WAYNE, Neb. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (2-12, 1-7 NSIC) dropped the opening game of the weekend on the road in a 83-71 loss to Wayne State (10-7, 5-4 NSIC) on Friday night.
 
While it wasn't his best outing of the season, it was a memorable night for junior Bryndan Matthews as he became the 18^th player in program history to reach 1,000 points with his seven points on the night. The Eagan native entered the night with 995 points as an early bucket in the second half pushed him over the edge.
 
It was also a big night for Ahmad Newsome as he blew past his career high with 20 points on an efficient 6-11 from the floor. The team's lone senior was even better at the free throw line as he hit all eight of his attempts while also adding three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
 
Avan Ward followed close behind with 16 points on 7-14 shooting with four rebounds while Max Keefe chipped in 12 points off the bench.
 
It was a tale of two halves offensively for the Golden Bears as they were an icy 6-26 (23.1%) in the opening half before connecting on an impressive 18-27 (66.7%) in the second half. As a result, CSP more than doubled their first half output of 23 points before the break with 48 after the break. The team finished the game at 45.3% (24-53) from the floor while they hit just 23.1% (3-13) from deep. Concordia did manage to take advantage of their 24 trips to the free throw line as they hit 20 of them for a mark of 83.3% for the game.
 
The Wildcats were even more efficient with their shots as they hit 30-56 (53.6%) for the game as they matched CSP in the second half with a 66.7% (16-24) mark of their own. WSC also utilized a 35-24 edge on the glass as well as a 37-24 edge in bench scoring to aid their effort in the victory.
 
Brian Goodwin paced a balanced Wayne State offense as he hit his first four shots en route to leading the team with 16 points and eight boards. Vance Janssen and Trevin Joseph followed with 14 points apiece while Austin Esters put up 12.
 
It was a tough start for the Golden Bears as they managed just four points over the first nearly five minutes of the game as the Wildcats ran out to a 15-4 lead. The margin held in that range over the next few minutes before an 8-0 run for Wayne State turned a 20-10 lead into a 28-10 lead with 8:34 left on the clock in the opening half. CSP chipped away with six of the next eight to cut it to 14, but the WSC advantage returned to following two straight buckets on the other end. Concordia trimmed the deficit before the break as they went into the locker room down 38-23.
 
After a CSP bucket out of the break cut it to 13, an 8-2 run in favor of Wayne State extended their lead to the largest of the night at 46-27 with 17:32 to go in the game. The Golden Bears showed their resilience as they answered with the next 11 points in a row and 15 of 17 during a stretch spanning 5:45 to close the gap all the way to six at 48-42. That would be all the closer they would get as the Wildcats rattled off eight points in a row a few minutes later to turn a 55-48 edge into a 63-48 edge with 8:05 to play. Concordia rallied again to cut it back to single digits on several more occasions down the stretch but were unable to pull any closer to nine as Wayne State held their comfortable lead. A late push grew the advantage back to 16 before the Golden Bears brought it back to a final margin of 83-71.
 
The Golden Bears will play the second of their four game road trip tomorrow evening at Augustana. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.