MARSHALL, Minn. – The Concordia Golden Bears men's basketball team (4-4, 0-3 NSIC) fell to Southwest Minnesota State (6-3, 1-2 NSIC) in heartbreaking fashion in a 90-86 loss as their bid for their first conference win came up short on Saturday night.
 
In a game that featured 12 ties and 16 lead changes, it was the Mustangs that finished the night on top as they took the lead for at the 6:41 mark and survived a Golden Bear push in the final minute to tie it or take the lead. The Mustangs made it six straight wins in the series with CSP as they picked up their 30^th win in 40 all-time contests between the two schools.
 
Despite claiming a 52.2% (35-67) to 49.1% (28-57) edge in shooting percentage as well as a massive 42-28 edge in points in the paint, Concordia was unable to turn it into a win. One of the biggest reasons was perimeter shooting as CSP connected on just 6-20 (30.0%) from beyond the arc while SMSU hit 11-21 (52.4%) from deep to aid their effort. Five different Mustangs hit a three in the game with four collecting at least two made threes.
 
As has been the case in nearly every game throughout the season, Bryndan Matthews and Isaiah McKay paced the team offensively as the two combined for 41 of the team's 86 points. Matthews flirted with a triple-double with 21 points, eight boards and seven assists on a solid 9-14 shooting while McKay added 20 points, four steals and three boards in the loss.
 
CSP had three more players reach double figures as Hayden Baughman connected on 4-6 from deep for 12 points while Jalen Mobley and Evan Wesenberg chipped in 10 apiece. Mobley contributed seven assists and five rebounds while Baughman pulled down five boards.
 
SMSU's NSIC Preseason Co-Player of the Year Ryan Bruggeman was a force in the win as he put up a huge double-double with 24 points on just 13 shots to go along with 10 assists while also putting up six rebounds in the game. Kenny Byers added 20 points while Taylor Schafer had 17.
 
The Golden Bears found themselves in an early hole as the Mustangs opened on a 10-2 run, but they answered in a big way as they rattled off a 19-5 run to take a 21-15 lead at the 11:07 mark. SMSU turned it around over the next several minutes as they tied it up at 23-23 before regaining the lead at 27-26. With Southwest Minnesota State still out front 35-33 with 5:27 left in the half, McKay took over with a personal 9-1 run to turn a two-point deficit into a six-point lead at 42-36 just a minute and a half later. Concordia's lead remained at six at 46-40 with a 1:45 left before the break before being held scoreless the rest of the way as the Mustangs cut it to two at 46-44 at the half.
 
The SMSU run continued to start the second half as they scored the first four points to take a 48-46 lead, but a 5-0 run for the Golden Bears a few possessions later put CSP back out front 53-50. Following the two early lead changes to start the period, the two teams continued to go back and forth with seven more lead changes by the midway point of the half. After a 6-0 run gave the Mustangs a four-point lead at 65-61, a 7-2 run for Concordia put them back ahead at 68-67. Southwest Minnesota State responded with eight of 10 to build a 75-70 edge with nine minutes to play before the next five went to CSP to tie it up again.
 
From there, the Mustangs grabbed the decisive advantage a few possessions later as they strung together a 9-3 burst to take an 86-80 lead with 2:48 to go. Concordia gave themselves a chance to even it up with six of eight points to cut it to two at 88-86 with less than a minute to go, but a missed free throw on the front end of a one-and-one with nine seconds to go sealed it as SMSU followed with a pair of made free throws to put it out of reach.
 
CSP returns home next weekend with Upper Iowa and Winona State coming to town for the NSIC home opening weekend for the Golden Bears.