ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia Golden Bears men's basketball team (3-18, 2-13 NSIC) was unable to hold onto a first half lead as Bemidji State (9-11, 6-9 NSIC) stormed back to knocked off CSP 82-76 at Gangelhoff Center on Friday night.
The Beavers knocked off the Golden Bears for the second consecutive season to even the all-time series at 16-16 through 32 meetings. Both teams now hold a record of 11-5 on their home court against each other.
While both teams finished with a nearly identical mark from the field with Concordia shooting 47.8% (33-69) and Bemidji State shooting 47.4% (27-57), they took entirely different routes to get there. CSP shot an efficient 51.6% (16-31) from the floor in the first 20 minutes, including 46.2% (6-13) from deep, while holding BSU to 41.4% (12-29). The script was flipped after the break as the Golden Bears were slowed to 44.7% (17-38) shooting in the second half and just 10.0% (1-10) from three while the Beavers surged to 53.6% (15-28) in the final 20 minutes. Overall, Bemidji State more than doubled up Concordia as they hit 15 threes compared to seven for CSP.
The Golden Bears managed to collect leads in points in the paint (44-20), second chance points (12-1), bench scoring (10-2), fast break points (8-2) and points off of turnovers (13-10), but those advantages were not enough to overcome the difference beyond the arc.
It was the potent combination of
Bryndan Matthews and
Avan Ward that combined for 63.2% of the team's scoring output as both surpassed the 20 point mark. Matthews set a new career best with 28 points on 13-25 shooting while he also added 12 rebounds for his fourth 20-10 game on the season. Ward made it six games with 20+ as he poured in 20 points on 8-19 from the floor and 4-9 from deep. He also added six assists and five boards in a full line.
Ted Brown missed just one of his five attempts to collect eight points, six rebounds and four assists while
Ahmad Newsome filled the box score with seven points, four rebounds and four assists as well in the loss.
The starting five for the Beavers all scored in double figures in the win as the unit accounted for all but two of the team's 82 points. Leading the way was Christian Pekarek as he scored 24 of his 27 points in the second half.
The Golden Bears wasted little time building an advantage as they scored the first seven points of the game and 15 of the first 18 to build a double-digit edge. CSP continued to grow their lead as they rattled off seven in a row to push it to 22-8, but the Beavers responded with an 11-0 run to cut it down to a one possession game. With the lead still at three at 24-21 with 6:47 left in the half, Concordia returned to the offensive with a 12-3 run to push it back to 12 at 36-24. Bemidji State cut the deficit in half before the break as the Golden Bears went into the locker room with a 38-32 lead.
The two teams traded buckets in the opening minutes of the second half until a 7-0 burst for Bemidji State closed the gap to one at 44-43. Concordia held onto a slim lead over the next few minutes until BSU tied it up for the first time all night at 50-50 with 12:00 to go in the game. CSP appeared to regain control with an 8-1 run to make it 58-51, but the Beavers stormed back with a 13-2 run to take a 64-60 lead with 6:51 left on the clock.
The Golden Bears clawed their way back even with the next four points before four points the other way gave Bemidji State their two possession lead back. CSP mustered up another big run as they scored on three straight possessions to pull ahead 72-70 with 2:27 to play, but they were held scoreless for the next two minutes as BSU took the decisive lead with eight straight points. The Beavers took care of business at the free throw line the rest of the way as they closed out an 82-76 win.
CSP remains at Gangelhoff Center tomorrow night with a 6 p.m. tip-off against Minnesota Crookston as the Golden Bears wrap up five straight games on their home court.
