SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Concordia-St. Paul (19-11) had its NSIC Sanford Health Tournament run come to a close in the quarterfinals with a 68-57 loss to Northern State (23-7) on Sunday night at the Sanford Pentagon.

After holding Northern State to 33.3 percent (10-30) first half shooting, the Wolves came alive with 61.9 percent (13-21) in the second. Concordia committed 18 turnovers with just nine assists and shot 50.0 percent (13-26) at the foul line.

The Golden Bears, seeded third in the NSIC South Division held an 8-point lead late in the first half before Northern State, second seed from the North Division held Concordia to just six points over nearly 12 and a half minutes of play.

It was part of a 27-6 run that gave the Wolves a 13-point lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the contest.

Concordia, the ninth ranked team in the latest NCAA Central Region Rankings released last Wednesday will now await its fate for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. Northern State was ranked sixth in the latest regional rankings while the seventh (Ouachita Baptist), eighth (Pittsburgh State) and 10th (Nebraska-Kearney) have all dropped games since the latest rankings were released as well.

The NCAA selection show will be aired live online at 9:30 p.m. central time on Sunday, March 8.

Concordia attempted to comeback late as senior Terez VanPelt finished a three-point play with junior Cole Olstad getting a steal and quick layup to cut the margin to eight (55-47) with under three minutes remaining.

VanPelt scored 10 points on 4-7 shooting in the game, adding five assists with five turnovers. Olstad finished with 11 points and six rebounds, shooting 4-6 from the floor and 3-3 at the foul line.

Northern State would not let Concordia get any closer, winning the defensive battle.

In the opening minutes, Concordia's offense sputtered with five turnovers and no points in the first 3:41 of play. Northern State opened the game with a pair of buckets, making two of its first three shots in the first 55 seconds of play.

Concordia's defense clamped down, holding NSU scoreless for nearly the next six minutes of play with three blocked shots including a pair by Nuni Omot.

It was Omot who sparked Concordia's offense early, finishing twice in the lane to tie the game before Shea Mandli gave Concordia the 6-4 lead inside with 13:38 to play in the half. Mandli scored 12 points with six rebounds off the bench while Omot had nine points and five rebounds.

A three-pointer by James Healy and tip-in on an offensive rebound by Mandli put the Golden Bears on an 11-2 run that lasted nearly seven minutes as the Wolves missed 10 consecutive field goal attempts to start the night just 2-13 from the floor.

The score remained close for the rest of the half until Olstad drove the lane and finished with contact for a three-point play to give Concordia its largest lead, 28-20 with 1:35 to play in the half.

In the last 95 seconds of the half, Concordia missed an opportunity to keep the lead at eight heading into the break missing a three-pointer with nine seconds before NSU's Skye Warwick buried an NBA-range three-pointer in the closing seconds.

The result was NSU cutting Concordia's 8-point lead late in the half to just three at the break, 28-25.

Concordia held Northern State to just 33.3 percent (10-30) first half shooting as the Wolves were able to make only one three-pointer in the first half (1-7).

Concorida countered with 47.6 percent (10-21) first half shooting and also only made one three pointer, but in just three attempts.

But the Wolves had the momentum heading into the break and carried it with them into the second half.

The Wolves held Concordia to just one basket, a Keith Crockett layup early in the second half, for over seven minutes of play as part of a 16-2 run that was the opening of the larger 27-6 stretch of play that allowed the Wolves to go ahead by double-digits.

During the second half run, Northern State post Seth Bachand had five blocked shots as NSU protected the inside where Concordia scored the bulk of its first half points. Bachand led Northern State with 17 points on 6-11 shooting with nine rebounds.

If the Golden Bears are not selected for the NCAA Tournament next Sunday night, the team will head into the offseason with the third most overall wins (19) in a single season in program history with a team record 14 wins in Northern Sun play. The team has also produced a team record 11-win turnover from the 2013-14 finish which was the best in the league this season.