ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team will look to get off to a strong start in the 2017-18 season as they open up non-conference play on the road this weekend as they travel south to face Arkansas-Monticello on Friday night and Arkansas Tech on Saturday night.
 
THIS WEEKEND'S MATCHUPS
The Golden Bears will face a tough early test against a pair of teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last season as they kick off regular season action on the campus of Arkansas Tech in the GAC/NSIC Crossover Challenge. CSP begins play with UAM on Friday at 5 p.m. before facing the hosts from ATU on Saturday at 8 p.m. Concordia will be meeting both teams for the first time in school history.
 
The Weevils of Arkansas-Monticello are coming off a 23-win season in which they earned the #4 seed in the NCAA Central Region Tournament, falling to the Augustana Vikings by a score of 76-69 in the opening round. UAM features a senior-laden lineup that returns their top four scorers from last season, including Central Region Second Teamer Derylton Hill. Hill averaged a team-best 16.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game as he leads a group of four returners that registered in with at least a dozen points per game.
 
Arkansas Tech enters in to the season after claiming 21 wins and reaching the NCAA Tournament last year as a #7 seed, falling in the first round to Southwest Minnesota State 93-82. Despite losing their leading scorer from a season ago, the Wonder Boys return three starters, led by All-GAC honorable mention selection Alex Brown. Brown paced all returners with 13.3 points per game while Montrell Williams followed close behind with 12.7 points per game.
 
NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
Following this weekend's trip to Arkansas, the Golden Bears have four more non-conference contests on the schedule, including two at home and two on the road, as well as a pair of exhibition games to prepare for league competition.
 
When asked about the non-conference schedule, head coach Joey James said, "This is probably our toughest non-conference schedule we've ever had with four Division I games and a pair of games against NCAA Tournament teams on the road as well as another road game at Michigan Tech. We're hoping that level of competition will lead to us getting off to a good start in the NSIC."
 
A big highlight during that stretch of games will come next weekend as CSP takes part in the Black & Gold Shootout on the campus of the University of Milwaukee. The team will square off against three Division I opponents in as many days as they take on Milwaukee and Elon in exhibition play before playing a regular season game against Florida International to conclude the trip.
 
Prior to that trip, CSP hosts North Central at Gangelhoff Center next Tuesday at 7 p.m. in their home opener. The Golden Bears will also host Presentation College on Nov. 21 before traveling to Michigan Tech in the non-conference finale on Nov. 25.
 
A LOOK AT THE NSIC
Following their non-conference tune-ups, Concordia hits the ground running in NSIC play as they open up the conference season with the 2016-17 national champion Augustana Vikings and Wayne State at home in the opening weekend.
 
With some dominant teams in the Northern Sun over the past several seasons, this season's landscape figures to be more wide open than it has been in a long time with every team jostling for spots in the upper echelon of the conference. The NSIC South looks to be especially competitive this season with seven of the league's top-12 teams coming from CSP's division.
 
James said of playing in the NSIC, "Any league game is tough. The NSIC is super competitive and it is a war every night. I think we found that out last season and hope to learn from it." He added about this season, "There are a lot of great teams and it will be really interesting to see who finishes where in the league."
 
BUILDING AN IDENTITY
A year after rolling out one of the youngest rosters in the country with just one junior and one senior, the Golden Bears return this season with a significantly more experienced squad.
 
"The two transfers we've added have injected some good moxie into our team. Both of those guys coming from winning programs has helped us. I also think our seven returning guys got humbled last year and they are hungry to compete this year. We're hoping that year of experience, growth and maturity will help us compete in our league," said James. He added, "We have to look at every game as a game we can win. Our guys have to believe that. Our goal is to host a first round conference tournament game, and if you do that, you set yourself up to be in a pretty good position."
 
 
While over half of the team's roster remains underclassmen, all but two of Concordia's players have registered significant playing time in their collegiate careers. Experience played a major role in Joey James' first season at the helm back in 2014-15 as the Golden Bears rode a veteran squad to a 19-11 record and a third place finish in the NSIC South. While that group ground out opponents on the defensive end and built a reputation for their hard-nosed play, James is looking to re-establish that identity in the program moving forward.
 
When talking about identity, James stated, "I want people to say 'those guys play their butts off and they always find ways to stay in games'. I want our identity to be that we're a tough basketball team that competes for 40 minutes and we force teams to grind out every possession. I want us to play with a lot of passion and togetherness."
 
MEET THE GOLDEN BEARS
Taking a look at the CSP roster, the backcourt features a solid mix of experienced veterans as well as young talent. The group includes senior Ahmad Newsome as well as juniors Bryndan Matthews and Elliot Kane, sophomores Avan Ward and Sam Siganos, and freshman Kenny Holz.
 
At the point, Sam Siganos and Ahmad Newsome return to that role with both appearances in all 31 games while they combined to make 40 starts between the two. Avan Ward is also set to make his Golden Bear debut this weekend and will also see time there.
 
Siganos stepped into a major role as a freshman last season as he collected 7.0 points, 3.6 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 26.6 minutes per game throughout the year. The Sioux Falls native came on strong down the stretch as he started 19 of the final 20 games of the season and averaged over eight points per game during that span.
 
"Sam has a chance to be a really good player. We need him to be more consistent and we need him to score for us, but he's taken a step forward and we're excited to see him continue to develop," said James of his sophomore point guard.
 
Newsome gives the Golden Bears another experienced returner running the point as the senior compiled 4.7 points, 3.7 boards and 2.7 assists in his 23.5 minutes of action per night in his first season in navy and gold. Newsome, the team's lone senior, will look to take a step forward in his second year at CSP after transferring in from Southwestern Community College.
 
James said of Newsome, "Ahmad was a captain a year ago and has been doing a good job of being a floor leader. He's a heady player that we hope to see improve this season both on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor."
Ward will be itching to get his Concordia career rolling this season after sitting out last year in his first year on campus. The Kansas City native put up impressive numbers on the club team at Western Iowa Tech with 19.8 points, 6.1 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game back in 2015-16 and will be making his official collegiate debut when he sets foot on the court this weekend. In addition to playing some minutes at the points, Ward will also be asked to play a major role at the two.
 
"Avan is someone who has all the tools and can score the ball well. He just needs to know when to score and needs to learn to take care of the ball. We're glad to have him in the mix this year," James stated.
 
Joining Ward at the two is transfer junior Elliot Kane. Kane spent last season at North Dakota State College of Science after playing his freshman season as a member of the Upper Iowa basketball program. The Osseo graduate knocked down over 40% from beyond the arc with 2.0 threes per game while averaging 8.8 points at NDSCS.
 
On Kane, James said, "Elliot is a local kid that just gets it. He's someone who brings it every day at practice. Everyone labels him as a shooter, but he can do other things for us as well."
 
Matthews will return to his role as a workhorse at the three for the Golden Bears after leading the team in most statistical categories last season. The junior logged a team-high 32.5 minutes per game while registering 15.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game on 50.9% from the floor. Matthews enters the season just 190 points shy of 1,000 with two years to play.
 
"Bryndan is arguably our best returning scorer, rebounder and steals leader. He's playing well at practice and played well against the Gophers and has all the intangibles to become an All-NSIC guard," James pointed out about the Eagan native.
 
Rounding out the group, Kenny Holz will redshirt in his first year at Concordia. Holz put together an impressive high school career at Iola-Scandinavia High School.
 
"Kenny has been a nice addition. He works hard every day and is very coachable. He will redshirt this year and continue to work on his skill and strength," said James of the Wisconsin native.
 
Down low, Concordia has a deep and talented group of five bigs that can all play multiple roles for the team. Juniors Brandon McRoy and Evan Wesenberg represent the elder statesmen and are joined by sophomores Ted Brown and Max Keefe as well as freshman Cody Carlson in the mix at the four and five.
 
Wesenberg gives the Golden Bears a new dimension as a player that transferring in from a highly successful North Dakota State program. At the DI level, saw time in both 2014-15 and 2016-17 with the Bison as he made a combined 26 appearances in those two seasons.
 
About the Germantown native, James said, "Evan is a junkyard dog. He gets down and dirty and finds his way around the ball a lot. He has a really good feel for the game and could be a very good offensive rebounder for us. He's a great guy for us to add."
 
Another native of Germantown, Wis., Max Keefe returns for a second season at Concordia. Keefe ranked fifth on the squad in scoring as a freshman as he put up 7.5 points to go along with 3.2 rebounds in 20.0 minutes per night. The big man made 15 starts and ranked fourth on the team with 26 threes made on the year.
 
"Max came back a little bit better than he was a year ago. He just knows how to play and will play inside and out for us, but needs to continue to improve as a rebounder and take a big step forward this year," said James about Keefe.
 
Brandon McRoy is another experienced player in the mix at the four as he is one of just two players on the team in their third season in the program. The Chicago native played in 27 games last season, including a career night in the NSIC Tournament win over MSU Moorhead as he led the team with 19 points on 7-13 shooting in an impressive showing.
 
About McRoy, James stated, "Brandon is a guy that, when he doesn't try to do too much, can really help us. If he just keeps the game simple, he can be effective for us."
 
Brown, a 6-10 center from Iowa, enters his sophomore year as the second leading scorer on the team among returners. The big man made 27 starts and picked up 8.8 points on 55.5% shooting to go along with 4.8 boards per game as a first year player. Brown closed out the season with a flurry as he scored in double figures in six of the final seven games last year.
 
"Ted can be the most dominant big man in the league when he puts his mind to it. His upside is tremendous and he has to be really good for us this year. We need him to be a better rebounder and improve on the defensive end but we're looking forward to seeing what he can do this season," pointed out James about the West Des Moines native.
 
As the lone freshman expected to see minutes this year, Carlson joins the Golden Bears after a tremendous prep career at Duluth East High School. The Duluth native figures to see minutes at both the four and the five for CSP in his first year at the collegiate level.
 
On Carlson, James stated, "Not a lot of people knew about Cody, but he is a super versatile player that can do a lot of things. People are going to be really surprised by him and his skill level, but he has to rebound better for us. We think he has a chance to be a pretty dang good player for us in the future."
 
For updates, game previews and recaps, please check back to cspbears.com throughout the season.