ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (4-6, 1-3 NSIC) closed out the weekend on a high note with an 82-75 win over Winona State (4-4, 1-3 NSIC) to pick up their first win in conference play on Saturday night at Gangelhoff Center.
The Golden Bears grabbed their sixth win in 48 meetings with the Warriors and second in 20 contests in St. Paul. CSP continued their success against WSU in recent years as they won their fourth in the last eight meetings and third of four.
Concordia took advantage of an efficient shooting night as they hit 51.0% (25-49) from the floor, 52.6% (10-19) from beyond the arc and 81.5% (22-27) from the free throw line on the night. The defense also played a role in the win as they held the Warriors to 40.9% (27-66) in the win.
Bryndan Matthews and
Matt Ambriz combined to do a lot of the heavy lifting offensively as Mattews led all players with 23 points on 7-11 from the floor while Ambriz connected on 5-9 from deep to finish with 20 points. Matthews also contributed elsewhere with a game-best 13 rebounds for a massive double-double as well as a pair of assists and a pair of threes made.
Diallo Powell rounded out the double digit scoring in the starting lineup as he picked up 12 points, five boards, three steals, two blocks and two assists.
CSP also continued to see production from their bench as
Sam Siganos and
Max Keefe both finished in double figures to give the Golden Bears a 21-12 edge in bench points. Siganos put up 11 points to go along with eight assists in 29 minutes of action while Keefe chipped in 10 points and six boards in just 17 minutes.
Riley Bambenek paced the Warriors with 20 points as he knocked down 6-10 from deep while Kyle Bauman finished with 18 points and eight rebounds on 7-10 shooting in the loss.
Concordia got off to a slow start as they quickly fell behind 9-2 in the opening three minutes, but the Golden Bears answered right back with a run of their own. With CSP still trailing 11-5, the Golden Bears embarked on a huge 17-0 run spanning 5:30 to go ahead 22-11 with 10:23 to go in the half. Winona State came right back with a momentum-shifting run of 18 points in a row as they regained the lead at 29-24. The momentum shifted back one more time before the half as Concordia scored nine in a row before taking a 37-36 lead into the break.
The lead bounced back and forth several times early in the second half as WSU led as late as 44-42 with 16:55 to play before the Golden Bears used yet another run, this time 14-0, to take the lead for good. The lead bounced around in double figures and grew to as many as 14 at 75-61 before the Warriors made a late push. Down the stretch Winona State cut it to four at 77-73 and again at 79-75 in the final minute, but CSP iced the game at the free throw line with three makes to close it out 82-75.
Concordia will get a break from NSIC play this Friday as they host Bethel before taking on Minnesota State at home in conference action on Saturday night.
