ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (2-3) made it two straight wins on their home court as they defeated Augsburg by a score of 92-81 on Tuesday night at Gangelhoff Center. All five starters finished in double figures as the team knocked down 14 threes.
 
The win was Concordia's second in a row in the series as they moved to 2-0 in the DII era and 3-10 overall in the series.
 
The Golden Bears caught fire from deep as their 14 made threes tied for sixth most in program history and represented the most made since the team knocked down 15 at Winona State in 2013.
 
Matt Ambriz led the way from beyond the arc as his six threes made also tied for sixth at Concordia, falling just two shy of the record. Ambriz hit 6-9 to finish with 19 points in 24 minutes on the night. His 66.7% tied for fourth best in CSP history.
 
With Ambriz hitting from deep, Diallo Powell and Bryndan Matthews controlled the game in nearly aspect for the Golden Bears. The pair combined for 44 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals in a pair of full stat lines.
 
Powell became the first CSP player to pick up a 20-10 game since Cole Olstad did it against Wayne State on Jan. 10 2015. The senior guard led all scorers with 25 points to go along with 10 boards, three assists and a steal in 39 minutes in the win. Powell also hit 9-16 from the floor and 5-8 from three in the game.
 
Matthews was all over the court as he filled the box score with 19 points on an efficient 7-12 shooting as he added eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals in the victory.
 
Ted Brown and Ahmad Newsome both joined that trio in double figures as all five starters scored 10+ points and combined for 86 of the team's 92 points. Brown was 5-9 shooting for 10 points and six rebounds while Newsome put up 11 points, six assists and three boards.
 
Leading scorer Collin Olmscheid carried the load with a double-double for the Auggies as he finished with 17 points and 12 boards while Chuckie Smith led the team with 19 points in the loss.
 
Both teams came out firing from deep as the two teams went back and forth knocking down threes as the lead changed hands several times during that span. Six straight made shots during a two minute stretch came from beyond the arc before CSP hit a two and added another three to build a quick 18-11 lead. Concordia remained out front for the rest of the half but were unable to really pull away as the Auggies kept it within a few possessions.
 
Augsburg pulled to back within three at 22-19 and remained within five at 31-26 before a 5-0 run from the Golden Bears pushed the lead to double figures for the only time of the opening 20 minutes at 36-26 with 6:04 left before the break. The lead shrunk back to three at 41-38 before Concordia extended it to seven at 47-40 going into the half.
 
For the second game in a row, the Golden Bears ran out of the gate to begin the second half and stretched their lead to put it out of reach. CSP began the half on a staggering 25-6 run spanning nearly seven minutes as their lead reached 26 at 72-46. The Concordia lead remained in double figures the rest of the way as the team cruised to victory. With the lead still at 20 midway through the half, Augsburg used an 11-2 run to pull within 11 at 76-65. They came as close at 10 at 80-70 before the Golden Bears closed out the 92-81 win.
 
The Golden Bears have nearly a week off as they return to action at Gangelhoff Center next Monday against Michigan Tech. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.