ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball (7-13, 4-12 NSIC) defeated University of Mary (5-16, 3-13 NSIC) 66-60 on Saturday evening at Gangelhoff Center to win back-to-back games for the first time since the team's 2-0 start.

The Golden Bears have won three of their last four games, which matches the team's hot 3-1 start as well.

Four Golden Bears reached double-figures led by junior Travon Mitchell's 19 points off the bench. Mitchell provided the first half spark as Concordia fell into a 19-6 hole in the first nine minutes to start the game.


CU Men's Basketball vs Mary 2.1.2014 - Images by Justin Oakman

A three-point play and three three-pointers in a four minute stretch from 9:48 to 5:36 propelled Concordia back into the game, trailing 28-23 after his third such three-pointer.

Concordia continued clawing back, getting the margin down to one, 30-29 as Cordell Smith knocked down a three-pointer with 2:24 to play in the half.

Smith also had a strong performance with 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds. He hit four three-pointers to go with Mitchell's three on the night.

The Marauders finished the half strong, though, scoring five straight in the last two minutes for a six point halftime lead.



U-Mary extended the lead early in the second half back to nine points, 38-29. Terez VanPelt finally snapped a six-minute, 17-second scoring drought for the Golden Bears with a pair of free throws. VanPelt scored 12 points for Concordia.

Concordia finally claimed its first lead on a layup by senior Chris Halvorsen with 9:29 to play, set-up by one of VanPelt's six assists. The junior point guard also only had one turnover while playing all 40 minutes.

From there the game remained tight down the stretch with Concordia holding the upper-hand leading by as many as four points twice.

Leading by one (61-60) with 1:55 to play, Concordia's Keith Crockett picked up a big steal on an errant pass by U-Mary's Jalen Jaspers in the lane. After Crockett missed the fastbreak attempt in traffic, VanPelt pulled down the offensive rebound allowing the Golden Bears to run more time off the clock.

It was Smith converting in the lane on a feed from VanPelt to extend the lead to three, 63-60 with just under a minute to go.

Concordia picked up another defensive stop with Smith rebounding once again, and it was Smith delivering an open three-pointer as Mitchell made the extra pass to him wide open on the wing with 15 seconds to play.

In the final minute of play, Smith scored five unanswered points and had a big defensive rebound to seal the win.

Sophomore big man Mike Yahnke joined Mitchell, Smith and VanPelt in double-figures with 11 points, adding six rebounds including three offensive boards.

As the two teams were nearly identical in field goal shooting (Concordia 20-49, Mary 20-47) and free throw shooting (Concordia 17-23, Mary 16-20), it was three-point shooting that was the difference. Concordia made 42.9% (9-21) while limiting U-Mary to 23.5% (4-17). The situational three-point shooting was also a key factor as Mitchell's first half long range shooting off the bench combined with Smith's big shot propelled the win.

The Marauders were led by Marc Musungayi with 17 points while Mike Johnson added 11 points on perfect shooting, hitting three three-pointers and a pair of free throws without missing.

For the second straight night, Concordia's bench also enjoyed a decisive advantage, out-scoring U-Mary's 23-13.

Concordia continues a four game homestand next Friday and Saturday against Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State, respectively.