BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (4-18, 1-14 NSIC) saw Bemidji State (8-12, 6-9 NSIC) pull away late in a 78-62 loss on Friday night.
The loss dropped CSP to 16-15 in the all-time series with BSU as the Beavers pulled within a game of tying the series. The win marked Bemidji State's first win over Concordia in the past five meetings as they improved to 11-5 all-time against the Golden Bears in Bemidji.
While the Concordia defense held the Beavers to 42.9% (24-56) from the floor, they were unable to get it going on the offensive end as they finished the night at 39.0% (23-59). Both teams attempted 22 shots from beyond the arc, but BSU took advantage of their opportunities with a 9-5 edge in made threes. Bemidji State also held a big edge at the free throw line as they hit 21-34 (61.8%) while CSP attempted just 17 and made 11 (64.7%).
The Beavers also benefitted from a 44-33 edge on the glass (13-9 edge on the offensive glass) as well as a 17-10 edge in points off of turnovers while the Golden Bears held their most decisive advantage in bench scoring with a 26-11 advantage in that area.
While the bench provided some offense for CSP, it was
Sam Siganos' night to shine as he led the team with a career-best 19 points on an efficient 6-11 shooting and 4-6 from deep. His four made threes were also a career-high while he also chipped in a pair of assists and rebounds as well.
Max Keefe and
Ahmad Newsome collected 25 of the team's 26 points of the bench as Keefe provided 14 points and Newsome added 11. Newsome hit 4-5 from the field and chipped in four rebounds as well.
Bryndan Matthews gave Concordia four players in double figures with 13 points on the night.
Jai'Vionne Green proved to be too much to handle with a game-high 25 points to go along with seven boards while Ben Best put up a big double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds in the win for the Beavers. Christian Pekarek also scored in double figures with 12 points.
The Golden Bears quickly fell behind as the Beavers scored the first seven points and 12 of the first 14 to put CSP in an early double digit hole. That lead wouldn't last long, however, as Concordia closed the gap back to one at 14-13 at the 11:04 mark with an 11-2 run before taking a lead a few minutes later. Their first lead of the day came with 7:44 to play before the break at 19-18, but the Beavers jumped right back in front with a 7-2 burst. The Golden Bears did manage to regain the lead momentarily with a minute to play in the half with a 29-28 advantage, but a late BSU bucket made it 30-29 in their favor heading to the locker room.
The Beavers built themselves a comfortable lead early in the second half as their advantage returned to double figures by the 17:28 mark at 42-31 following a 12-2 run. The Golden Bears pulled back within five following a Siganos three to make it 47-42, but lead returned to double figures for Bemidji State at 56-44. Eight would be as close as Concordia would get the rest of the way as Bemidji State remained in control down the stretch. The gap was trimmed to eight at 56-48 and again at 61-53 with 6:57 to play before the Beavers put it out of reach. Their lead grew to as many as 19 before they settled for a final of 78-62.
Concordia closes out the road trip tomorrow night as they travel to Crookston to take on the Golden Eagles at 6 p.m.
