SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Concordia Golden Bears men's basketball team (2-13, 1-8 NSIC) fell to Augustana (10-6, 5-5 NSIC) on Saturday evening by a score of 76-60 as the Vikings completed the regular season sweep.
For the second time in as many meetings this year, the Golden Bears found themselves in striking distance in the second half to knock off Augie before the Vikings pulled away late. The loss drops CSP to 5-20 in the all-time series with Augustana winning each of the last 13 contests between the two schools.
Despite holding a solid 38-30 rebounding edge, including a 10-4 edge on the offensive glass, as well as a 23-18 edge in bench scoring, the Golden Bears did not hold a lead throughout the entire night. The Vikings led for all but 17 seconds in the game as they took advantage of a 16-2 lead in points off of turnovers while shooting at a higher clip than CSP. Augustana hit 47.4% (27-57) from the floor, 33.3% (9-27) from three, and 81.3% (13-16) from the free throw line while Concordia finished at 39.3% (22-56) shooting, 19.0% (4-21) from beyond the arc, and 70.6% (12-17) from the charity stripe.
It was a strong showing off the bench for sophomore big man
Ted Brown as he knocked down a solid seven of nine shots to pace the team with 15 points in his 18 minutes of work. Brown also added seven boards, including three on the offensive glass.
Bryndan Matthews joined him in double figures with 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists in his return to the starting lineup as he played all 40 minutes.
Cody Carlson paced the squad in the rebounding department with nine rebounds to go along with six points while four other Golden Bears scored at least five points.
It was the usual suspects that carried the load for Augustana as Jordan Spencer, John Warren and Steven Schaefer all scored 16 points or more in the winning effort. Spencer led the way with 19 points on just 10 shots while Warren had 17 and Schaefer had 16. Spencer chipped in seven assists while Warren had six boards and three steals.
The first half proved to be a tight one as the Vikings grabbed an early lead and held on to a slim advantage throughout. After Augie jumped out to a 9-5 lead, the Golden Bears answered four straight to even it up at 9-9. That proved to be the lone tie of the half as Augustana responded with the next six points to match their largest edge of the half at 15-9 with 11:20 to go before the break. CSP cut it down to one on three occasions before the end of the half but were unable to tie it back up or take the lead as they went into the locker room trailing 28-27.
It was all Augustana to open the second half as they used an early 7-0 burst to spark a larger 19-5 run to balloon their lead all the way out to 15 at 49-34 with 13:41 to go in the game. The Golden Bears battled back with 11 of the next 13 points to chip it back down to six at 51-45 just over minutes later. With the differential still at seven at 56-49, the Vikings blew the game open with 15-4 run to give them an 18 point lead at 71-53 with under three minutes to go. Augie's lead grew to as many as 19 before they settled with a 76-60 final.
CSP remains on the road next weekend as they travel to U-Mary and Minot State before returning home to host Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls the following weekend.
