ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia Golden Bears men's basketball team (2-11, 1-6 NSIC) led for much of the afternoon as they cruised to a 72-62 win over MSU Moorhead (4-10, 2-6 NSIC) on Sunday afternoon at Gangelhoff Center.
CSP closed out 2017 on a high note as they grabbed their first conference victory of the season. The win marked their first in NSIC play since they knocked off Minnesota Duluth by a score of 95-85 at Gangelhoff Center back on Feb. 4. Concordia continued to give the Dragons trouble in the recent series history with their second win in as many meetings and third in the past four. The Golden Bears have also won two in a row over MSUM in St. Paul to bump their record to 9-6 on their home court against the Dragons.
The Golden Bears controlled play on both ends of the court as they knocked down 48.4% (31-64) from the floor while limiting the Dragons to just 38.2% (21-55) on the night. Unselfish play was a major factor for CSP as they picked up 21 assists on their 31 makes compared to just eight assists on 21 makes for MSU Moorhead. Concordia also took advantage of a 38-34 edge on the glass to hold a 15-7 edge in second chance points while also outscoring the Dragons 31-13 in bench scoring.
Avan Ward continued his torrid play of late with his third consecutive 20 point game to lead the way for the Golden Bears. Ward hit an efficient 8-15 overall and 3-7 from beyond the arc to compile a game-best 20 points. The sophomore added three rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in the win.
Ward was one of four CSP players to finish in double figures as
Evan Wesenberg also reached the mark while
Ted Brown and
Max Keefe joined in from the bench. Wesenberg grabbed his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 boards while hit six of eight shots for 12 points and Keefe scored 11. Brown also chipped in six boards and Keefe put up four boards and four assists.
Elliot Kane hit three triples for nine points and
Brandon McRoy added eight points and four assists as well.
It was a balanced attack for the Dragons as four of their five starters scored at least 10 points, led by Travaun Coad's 16 points and seven rebounds. Addison Park followed with 13 points while Johnny Beeninga and Tanner Kretchman had 10 points apiece.
The two team traded baskets to open the game as the first seven minutes of the contest featured five ties to bring the score to 12-12. The Dragons pulled ahead with a three before Concordia responded with five of the next six points to take their first lead of the game at 17-16 with 10:34 to go in the half. That lead nearly held for the rest of the afternoon as the Golden Bears only trailed once from that point on. CSP continued their run, a 10-2 run overall, to extend their edge to five at 22-17 before pushing it to the largest margin of the half at 27-20 following a three from Ward with 6:26 on the clock. Over the next two and a half minutes MSUM scored nine of 11 points to pull back even before Concordia grabbed two of the final three buckets of the half to take a 33-31 advantage into the break.
The two teams opened up the second half in nearly the same way as the first with the scoring going back and forth to tally four more ties over the next four minutes to bring the total to 11 (there were 12 total in the game) to that point. Coad tacked on a free throw to give MSU Moorhead their only lead of the half at 40-39 with 14:49 left on the clock before the Golden Bears took over. After CSP jumped back ahead with four straight, the Dragons tied it back up one last time at 43-43. Concordia took the lead for good at the 11:29 mark with a Kane three before gradually adding to it. Kane's three sparked an extended 18-6 run spanning six minutes to build a 61-49 edge for the Golden Bears. CSP's lead reached as many as 15 at 68-53 and never shrunk back to single digits for the rest of the contest as they closed out the 72-62 victory.
Concordia hits the road for a four-game road trip to open up 2018 as they travel to Wayne State and Augustana next weekend before heading to U-Mary and Minot State the following weekend. CSP returns to Gangelhoff Center to host Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls on Jan. 19-20.
