ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia Golden Bears men's basketball team (3-16, 2-11 NSIC) is back in action on Tuesday night as the Golden Bears play host to Minnesota State (15-4, 11-2 NSIC) at Gangelhoff Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Over the weekend, Concordia fell behind early in the first half both nights as they were unable to overcome the deficits against Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls.
 
Turnovers cost the Golden Bears in a big way throughout the weekend as they lost the turnover battle 29-14 while their opponents outscored them 40-9 in points off of turnovers. The Golden Bears saw their opponents knock down and efficient 50.0% (62-124) from the floor while they knocked down 43.5% (47-108) themselves. CSP continued to be solid on the glass as they out-rebounded USF 36-33 on Saturday night while nearly matching their opponents as they were edged 66-65 in the two games
 
Bryndan Matthews put together a strong offensive weekend with 18.0 points on an impressive 52.0% (13-25) from the floor to go along with 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in the two games. Avan Ward joined in double figures with 10.0 points per game while also dishing out 5.0 assists and grabbing 3.5 boards and 1.5 steals on the weekend. Elliot Kane had an efficient showing on Saturday night as he connected on 5-7 shooting and 3-4 from deep while scoring 13 points en route to averaging 9.0 points per game in the two contests.
 
MSU SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears are set to meet the Mavericks for the 30th time in series history on Tuesday night. In the previous 29 meetings, CSP has gone 6-23 against MSU. The series has been tipped in favor of the Mavericks over the past few years as MSU has won 11 of the last 12 meetings dating back to the 2012-13 season. Concordia has found most of their success against Minnesota State on their home court as they have won four of 13 meetings in St. Paul. Since Concordia's 75-73 win in St. Paul back in 2014, MSU has won the last two meetings there.
 
LAST MEETING VS MSU
Back on Dec. 16, Concordia-St. Paul dropped their final contest before the holiday break at Minnesota State by a score of 93-68.
 
Four areas cost Concordia as Minnesota State controlled the game on the glass, in the turnover column, beyond the arc, and at the free throw line as CSP was outscored 16-3 in second chance points, 23-6 in points off of turnovers, 33-15 from deep, and 18-9 at the line on the day.
 
Those factors negated a solid day shooting for the Golden Bears as they hit an even 50.0% (27-54) from the floor and 41.7% (5-12) from three-point range, nearly matching MSU's marks of 50.8% (32-63) and 45.8% (11-24).
 
A big factor in the team's efficient showing from the floor was sophomore Avan Ward. Ward compiled a career-high 27 points on 10-17 shooting in just 23 minutes of action. The guard hit all five of the team's three-pointers on the day as he hit 5-8 from deep.
 
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State owns a 15-4 record, including an 11-2 NSIC record. MSU has won its last three games, including wins against Sioux Falls (99-82) and Southwest Minnesota State (72-70) last weekend at Taylor Center.
 
A total of five Mavericks are averaging more than 11 points per game this season, including senior Charlie Brown who leads the MSU offense with 15.8 points per game. Sophomore Kevin Krieger is averaging 15.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as well.
 
As a team, the Mavericks are shooting 48.5% from the field, including a 42.9% clip from long range. MSU has also passed out 237 assists and forced 229 turnovers.