BAYAMON, P.R. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (0-3) dropped their third in a row as they fell to University of Metropolitana (1-0) by a score of 83-73 on Sunday afternoon.
 
Turnovers were once again a major factor as CSP turned it over 25 times leading to 26 points for UMET while Metropolitana had 13 turnovers resulting in 12 points for the Golden Bears. UMET also took advantage from beyond the arc as they hit 13 threes on 32 attempts (40.6%) while connecting on 43.3% (26-60) from the floor. The Golden Bears knocked down 42.1% (24-57) of their shots while hitting just 28.6% (4-14) from deep.
 
Despite the loss, Concordia was able to dominate on the glass as they out-rebounded UMET 50-32 in the game as they held a strong 19-8 edge in offensive boards. The result was a 14-7 advantage in second chance points and a 32-22 edge in points in the paint. CSP also made their way to the free throw line with regularity as they shot 34 free throws, making 21 of them (61.8%).
 
Bryndan Matthews was a major catalyst for the Golden Bears as he collected his second double-double in three games as he led all scorers with 22 points on 6-11 from the floor and 8-13 from the line as well as 11 boards and three assists in 34 minutes.
 
Diallo Powell also hit double figures in scoring for the third game in a row as he picked up 12 points and five rebounds in a game-high 35 minutes. Ahmad Newsome nearly joined the pair in double digits as he fell a point short with nine points and 10 boards in the loss.
 
Max Keefe gave the offense a lift off the bench as he hit all four of his shots, including a three, to grab nine points, a pair of boards and a pair of blocks.
 
Hector Rodriguez paced Metropolitana with 21 points on just 4-8 from the field while three other UMET players hit double figures. David Berdecia and Alejandro Grant each had 13 points while Javier Rivera had 11.
 
Concordia found themselves in an early hole as Metropolitana scored the first five points and 13 of the first 19 to build a quick seven point lead just four minutes in. The lead hung around that mark until CSP grabbed six in a row to tie the score at 17-17 with 11:34 left in the half. UMET answered back with a run of their own to build their largest lead of the first half at 27-19 before the Golden Bears responded again.
 
Concordia rattled off an 11-1 run to jump ahead for the first time in the game at 30-28 before the lead bounced back and forth the rest of the half. Metropolitana jumped back ahead by three at 37-34 with two to play, but four free throws from Diallo Powell down the stretch put CSP in front 38-37 heading into the break.
 
Metropolitana came out firing early in the second half as they quickly had their lead back to eight at 48-40 at the 16:38 mark. They kept their foot on the gas as their lead reached double figures for the first time all day at 56-45, but the Golden Bears showed some resilience to scratch their way back in it. CSP pulled back ahead following a 17-3 burst to make it 62-59 with 8:42 to play, but UMET was back out front for good by the 5:50 mark. They used a crucial stretch of eight straight points to go up 69-64 before Concordia fought their way back to within one at 72-71. It wouldn't be enough as CSP was outscored 11-2 in the final 1:07 to bring the score to a final of 83-73.
 
Concordia will look to bounce back on Thursday night as they host Bemidji State at Gangelhoff Center.