ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (5-7, 0-6 NSIC) fell to Minnesota State (9-3, 5-1 NSIC) in the team's final contest before the New Year by a score of 92-60 on Sunday afternoon at Gangelhoff Center.
 
The Golden Bears dropped to 6-26 in the all-time against the Mavericks as MSU won their 14^th in the last 15 meetings between the two teams. Minnesota State held CSP to just 39.7% (23-58) from the floor and 16.7% (3-18) from three while also forcing 19 turnovers and committing just six in the win. The Mavericks finished the game at 45.2% (33-73) on the offensive end while also knocking down 43.8% (14-32) from deep in the game.
 
Bryndan Matthews paced the Golden Bears on the night with his fifth double-double on the season with 17 points and 10 boards as he connected on 7-10 from the floor. Lee Higgins also reached double figures with 10 points to go along with seven rebounds while Isaiah McKay and Cody Carlson each added eight points.
 
Four Mavericks finished in double figures, led by 16 from Cameron Kirksey. Carlos Anderson chipped in 15 while Frankie Mack had 13 and Quincy Anderson had 10.
 
After a pair of early MSU free throws to start the game, Concordia responded with seven of the next nine points to take a 7-4 lead three minutes in. That proved to be the only lead of the day for the Golden Bears as a 12-2 run for the Mavericks over the next three minutes gave them the lead for good. Three straight buckets for Cody Carlson a few minutes later brought CSP back to within two at 19-17, but eight straight points the other way pushed the Minnesota State lead to double figures with 8:05 to go in the half. The Mavericks continued to add to their lead before the break as they scored 10 of the final 14 points of the half to take a 44-29 advantage into the locker room.
 
Concordia had it back to 12 with a McKay three to open the second half, but Minnesota State put the game out of reach with 10 unanswered points to push it to 54-32. The lead for the Mavericks remained at 19 or above the rest of the contest as MSU finished off a 92-60 victory.
 
The Golden Bears return to action in 2019 as they travel to North Dakota to take on UMary next Friday and Minot State next Saturday.