ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul (4-14, 7-15 NSIC) opened the evening by hitting just one of its first 12 shots in a 68-52 loss to Southwest Minnesota State (15-9, 12-6 NSIC) on Saturday for senior night at Gangelhoff Center.

It was Concordia senior Cordell Smith hitting the Golden Bears first shot of the night four and a half minutes into play after SMSU opened with the game's first six points.

Smith finished with 13 points and eight rebounds (three offensive) while hitting three three-pointers.

After another six straight points by SMSU, junior Travon Mitchell converted a layup which snapped Concordia's 1-12 start from the floor in the first eight and a half minutes of play.

Mitchell matched Smith's 13 points on the night while sophomore Mike Yahnke scored 14 points with four rebounds and three blocks. Yahnke was the team's top shooter as well, hitting on 7-12 from the field. Mitchell and Yahnke each came off the bench as Concordia's reserves outscored SMSU's 33-16.

The rest of the way, Concordia shot a much better 43.2% from the floor to finish 35.7% (20-56). But the Mustangs strong defensive start helped them open up a 14 point lead at the half, limiting the Golden Bears to 17 points in the first 20 minutes of action.

In the second half, Concordia got things going with junior Keith Crockett at the point. Crockett dished out six second half assists to facilitate a comeback. Concordia cut a 38-23 second half deficit to just seven, 40-33, with plenty of time to play (16:09). The Golden Bears had made 12 of its first 15 field goals to start the half in the comeback attempt.

The Golden Bears had it down to seven six times the rest of the night with three possessions for a chance to cut into the lead even further but were unable to sustain the momentum in the loss.

SMSU had five players in double-figures led by Nick Smith in the post with 14 points and 10 rebounds along with two blocks. Mitch Weg also had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds as SMSU bruised Concodia in the paint to a 42-26 scoring edge down low.

Concordia opted to start three of its four seniors as Clay Olstad and Taylor Steinbauer each started alongside Smith with Chris Halvorsen logging 14 productive minutes off the bench as well.

With their home slate closed for the season, Concordia hits the road for the final four games starting next Friday and Saturday night at Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State, respectively.