Men's Basketball | 1.21.16

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (6-12, 3-9 NSIC) will look to carry their momentum on the road this weekend as they take on Sioux Falls (10-8, 5-7 NSIC) and Southwest Minnesota State (8-9, 4-8 NSIC).
 
USF SERIES HISTORY
Concordia meets Sioux Falls for the 16^th time in program history and seventh time since the Cougars joined the NSIC. CSP trails the all-time series 5-10 and holds a record of 2-4 in the six previous NSIC meetings. Last season, the Golden Bears snapped a streak of 10 USF wins in 11 meetings by sweeping the season series.
 
LAST MEETING VS USF
Last season in Sioux Falls, ran away from Sioux Falls in the second half as they closed out the regular season with a 70-59 win.
 
Efficient shooting was a major key for the Golden Bears as they connected on 55.0% (22-40) from the floor. CSP also connected on 63.6% (7-11) from three and 79.2% (19-24) from the free throw line as well.
 
The scoring was balanced for Concordia as eight different players scored at least five points in the game. Nuni Omot, Josh Monroy and Cole Olstad all scored in double figures for the Golden Bears.
 
Monroy put up his second consecutive impressive night as he flirted with a double-double with 12 points and eight boards along with a pair of blocks in just 16 minutes. He was nearly perfect from the floor as he connected on 4-5 as well as a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line. Olstad finished the night with 11 points and grabbed three rebounds in 35 minutes of play
 
SMSU SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears and Mustangs are set to meet for the 34^th time on Saturday as CSP enters in with a record of 9-24 against SMSU. Concordia had especially struggled in Marshall with a record of 3-14 in 17 trips there. Entering last season, the Golden Bears had lost seven in a row to Southwest Minnesota State, but claimed two victories to grab a season sweep.
 
LAST MEETING VS SMSU
Last season in Marshall, CSP shot 60.7% (37-61) from the floor while holding Southwest Minnesota State to 39% (24-61) shooting for an 86-63 win at R/A Facility.
 
Concordia posted the top single game shooting percentage that the Mustangs have allowed on the season, with the 60.7 percent mark the second highest for the Golden Bear offense.
 
Junior Shea Mandli posted his first career-double-double with 17 points on 8-10 shooting while adding 10 rebounds while playing 24 minutes off the bench. Mandli led Concordia's reserves to outscore SMSU's by a 31-14 margin.
 
Mandli backed up center Josh Monroy, who was perfect in seven attempts from the floor for 14 points to match his season-high. He also hauled in five rebounds and had a blocked shot in 16 minutes.
 
LAST TIME OUT
On Tuesday night, CSP couldn't recover from a slow start, falling 82-66 to Minnesota State at Gangelhoff Center.
 
Concordia's three game winning streak came to a close as the Golden Bears closed out a five game homestand with a 3-2 record. 

Senior guard Cole Olstad scored 24 points to move into seventh on Concordia's career scoring list with 1,296 points, surpassing Kyle Timmer (1990-94) with 1,295. Olstad shot 7-12 from the floor, 3-5 from three and 7-8 from the line while grabbing six rebounds and nabbing three steals.
 
Concordia had four players reach double-figures in scoring as Shea Mandli scored 15 with eight rebounds (six offensive) while Diallo Powell matched him with 15, adding four steals. Bryndan Matthews also scored 10 points.
 
CHASING HISTORY
With Olstad moving into seventh all-time at Concordia in scoring, he enters the weekend within striking distance of the top-5 in program history. He now sits just 40 points behind Wayne Coburn (1,336) for sixth and 44 points behind Michael O'Keefe (1,340) to move into the top-5. Olstad also ranks fourth in steals (150), fifth in three-pointers made (177), sixth in free throws made (285) and rebounds (526), eighth in free throw percentage (.803), assists (214) and field goals made (417), 10th in three-point percentage (.386) and 11th in blocked shots (57).