ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team is 3-0 for the first time since the 2011-12 season as they captured a 85-70 victory over Edgewood on Saturday.

Bryndan Matthews continued his strong start to the season, as the senior racked up 33 points on 10-12 shooting. Matthews also corralled 11 rebounds, dished out five assists, and had two steals and a block. The explosive guard was also able to draw fouls throughout the game, going 12-13 from the free throw line.

The Golden Bears battled back from a tough shooting start, finishing the game with a 29-59 (49.2%) mark from the field. Concordia also was efficient from the line, shooting 19-21 on free throws (90.5%).

Concordia missed their first seven shots of the game before finally breaking through on an and-one Matthews' jumper. Edgewood started the game shooting the ball well, eventually extending their lead to 18-5 as CSP started just 2-13 from the floor.

The Golden Bears turned it around about midway through the first half, as the Golden Bears went on a 30-12 run to end the first 20 minutes of play and lead 37-32 at halftime.

Isaiah McKay also continued to produce for the Golden Bears, posting 19 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Hayden Baughman was once again effective from deep, hitting 3-6 three-pointers and scoring 11 points.

Evan Wesenberg and Lee Higgins also posted some valuable minutes for the Golden Bears off the bench. Wesenberg scored six points on 3-4 shooting and added two blocks and two steals. Higgins matched Wesenberg's point total and pitched in five rebounds and three assists.

The Golden Bears were efficient form the floor in the second half, shooting 16-29 form the floor (55.2%), 5-10 from three (50.0%), and 11-13 (84.6%) on free throws.

The Eagles wouldn't go away easily after the halftime break, as they went back-and-forth with Golden Bears and eventually cut their lead to one at 47-46 with 14 minutes remaining. Concordia would expand the margin to 10 (56-46) before another Edgewood run brought it down to two (60-58) with 8:17 to go.

Concordia would take control from that point, going on a 21-8 run (over the span of 5:10) capped by a fastbreak dunk by Matthews to take a 81-66 lead.

The Eagles featured a balanced attack, as they had four players score 10+ points in the loss. Guard Jake Negus led the team with 16 points on 5-15 shooting.

The Golden Bears held a sizable edge in paint points, scoring 38 points in the lane compared to the Eagles' 25. CSP also made more standout plays on the defensive end, as they had seven steals and two blocks compared to two steals and no blocks for Edgewood.

CSP will take to the road for the first time this season in their next matchup, as the Golden Bears will play Georgian Court (N.J.) in Melbourne, Fla. on November 23rd. Concordia will also play in the same location on the 24th in the second day of the tournament.