ABERDEEN, S.D. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (4-9, 1-5 NSIC) returned from the break with a 76-75 loss at Northern State (9-4, 5-2 NSIC) as they nearly erased a double-digit second half deficit on Friday night.
 
Concordia continued to shoot an efficient percentage from the floor as they knocked down 48.2% (27-56) of their shots and 50.0% (10-20) from beyond the arc while holding NSU to 37.9% (25-66) and 33.3% (8-24), respectively, but were unable to convert it to a win.
 
The big difference in the game came on the glass as a 45-35 rebounding advantage, including a 19-8 edge on the offensive glass led to a 20-7 edge in second chance points for the Wolves. Northern State also held a slight 32-28 in points in the paint in the win.
 
Bryndan Matthews paced all scorers on the night as he finished with a game-high 19 points on 6-13 from the field and 3-5 from deep. Matthews also chipped in nine boards, falling one shy of the double-double, before he fouled out.
 
Matt Ambriz and Max Keefe continued to fill it up off the bench as Ambriz hit 4-6 from three to finish with 12 points while Max Keefe picked up 12 points on 5-10 shooting. Ted Brown made it four CSP players in double figures with 11 points and six rebounds while Sam Siganos dished out six assists to go along with six points and four boards.
 
Ian Smith paced the Wolves with 18 points and nine rebounds while Mack Arvidson overcame a tough shooting night to score 17 points in the win. Logan Doyle added a massive double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds off the bench on the night.
 
The Golden Bears got off to a strong start as the Wolves didn't gain the lead for the first time until the 16-14 mark just over six minutes into the game. Bryndan Matthews was busy with a pair of threes and a pair of free throws in a span of three and a half minutes to maintain a slight lead as late as 14-11, but NSU turned it in their favor from there.
 
After taking their first lead, CSP jumped back in front at 17-16, but the next eight points went in favor of Northern State as they took the lead for good. NSU's seven point lead at 24-17 matched their largest of the half as Concordia chipped it down to three on several occasions before the break. Three would be all the closer that the Golden Bears would get as they remained within that margin at 38-35 before four points for the Wolves made 42-35 after the opening 20 minutes.
 
The Wolves continued to add to their lead early in the second half as they pushed their advantage to double figures at 50-40. They continued to hold onto a lead of six or more until just before the midway point of the half as the lead remained 10 at 62-52 with 12:25 left. CSP cut it down to five by scoring the next five points, but NSU answered right back and pushed it back to a three possession game nearly the rest of the way.
 
While still trailing by seven at 74-67 with 1:11 left on the clock, the Golden Bears made a late push to even it up or take the lead. Ambriz knocked down a three with just over a minute left to cut it to four before a Siganos bucket with 23 seconds to play made it 74-72. Bo Fries hit 1-2 at the line to give Concordia a chance to tie, but they were unable to convert as Doyle hit a free throw at the other end to push it back to four. Diallo Powell knocked down a three as time expired to bring the final margin to 76-75.
 
The Golden Bears will look to get back in the win column at 6 p.m. on Saturday night as they travel to MSU Moorhead to close out 2016.