WAYNE, Neb. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (3-5, 0-2 NSIC) dropped their second in a row to open league play with a 76-48 loss to Wayne State (2-6, 1-2 NSIC) on Saturday night.
The Wildcats evened the all-time series with the Golden Bears as each team has won 18 of the 36 meetings. CSP saw the momentum swing back in WSC's favor after winning three of the last four between the two schools heading into the night. Concordia is now 6-12 in the 18 trips to Wayne.
Concordia's offense was stifled by Wayne State as they knocked down just 32.6% (14-43) from the field and 27.3% (3-11) from beyond the arc on the night. The Wildcats were also impressive on the offensive end with an efficient 52.5% (31-59) shooting and 42.9% (12-28) from deep.
Turnovers were also a factor as WSC turned 21 CSP turnovers into 20 points while the Golden Bears were only able to force 13 turnovers for 16 points.
Ted Brown was the lone Golden Bear to finish in double figures with 10 points on 4-5 shooting as he added six boards in 23 minutes.
Sam Siganos chipped in eight points while
Bryndan Matthews added seven and
Carter Brooks had six.
Matt Thomas and Brian Goodwin keyed the victory for Wayne State as Thomas led all scorers with 17 points on 7-11 from the floor while Goodwin had 16 on 6-10 shooting on the night.
After the two teams split the first 12 points through the first few minutes, the Wildcats started to take over. A 7-0 run stretched the lead to 13-6 before they doubled that advantage just past the midway point of the half at 24-10. The lead remained in double figures throughout the rest of the half and grew as large as 17 at 33-16 before the Wildcats settled with a 36-20 advantage heading into the break.
Wayne State continued to pour it on in the second half as the lead hit 20 shortly after the start of the half and it continued to grow from there. CSP closed the gap back to 19 at 44-25, but that would be all the closer they would get as the Wildcats cruised to a 76-48 victory.
The Golden Bears will look to get in the win column in conference play as they return home for their NSIC home opening weekend with Upper Iowa and Winona State coming to town.
