DULUTH, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (5-19, 4-14 NSIC) put together a feverish comeback as they erased 16-point deficit to claim an 88-85 overtime win at Minnesota Duluth (9-14, 5-12 NSIC) on Saturday night.
 
The Golden Bears went into the half down by 16 and remained behind by 13 with 7:32 to play before a crucial 18-5 run tied it up in the final minute. Avan Ward added another game-tying bucket with eight seconds left to force overtime as CSP pulled away in the extra frame.
 
It proved to be quite a night for Ward as he flew past his career high with 33 points on an excellent 11-20 shooting and 6-9 from deep in the win. His 33 point outburst was the first 30+ point performance for the Golden Bears since Cole Olstad poured in 30 against U-Mary in the 2012-13 season. It's also the highest total since Craig Heiman scored 36 against SMSU in 2009-10. Ward also chipped in four assists, four rebounds and two steals.
 
Bryndan Matthews nearly made it two players to reach that mark on the night as he put up 28 points on just 13 shots as he went 8-13 from the field. He reached the free throw line a staggering 20 times, hitting 12 of them. He also had six boards, three assists and a pair of steals. Matthews has now scored at least 28 points in three of the last four games.
 
While the duo combined for 61 of the team's 88 points, Ted Brown and Evan Wesenberg each hit double figures with 10 points apiece. Wesenberg almost made it a double-double as he added eight points.
 
After hitting a decent 45.0% (9-20) in the first half, the Golden Bears exploded in the second half and overtime as they connected on an incredible 70.0% (21-30) in the final 25 minutes of the game. CSP also took advantage of their few attempts from three-point range, hitting 7-12 (58.3%). Minnesota Duluth was held to 28.6% (8-28) in the second half as they finished the night at 40.0% (24-60). They also hit just 34.6% (9-26) from deep.
 
Concordia was able to overcome a 20-13 deficit in turnovers as well as a 26-17 deficit in bench scoring as they held a huge 39-28 rebounding edge and a 30-24 scoring edge in the paint.
 
The win moves CSP up to 13-14 in the all-time series with the Bulldogs as they moved to 6-8 in Duluth with the comeback.
 
Brandon Myer paced the Bulldogs with 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals in a big line while Jake Wilson scored 19 off the bench for UMD. Wilson scored 16 of his 19 before the break as he hit all six of his shots during that span.
 
The two teams jostled for position early on as Concordia pulled ahead 12-9 as the 12:16 mark of the opening half before the Bulldogs started to take control with an 8-0 run to pull ahead 17-12. The Golden Bears answered back with eight in their favor to regain a three-point edge, but a 16-2 run for the Bulldogs gave Minnesota Duluth the lead for nearly the rest of the night. CSP pulled back within single digits before UMD closed the half on another 8-0 run to take a 41-25 edge into the break.
 
The lead remained comfortably in double figures to open the second half before the Golden Bears started to chip away. CSP cut it to 10 at 43-33 before closing the gap to single digits at 53-44 with 11:45 left. Minnesota Duluth went back ahead by double figures as they held a 67-54 edge with 7:32 to play, but Concordia came storming back with a massive 13-2 burst to cut the deficit to one possession at 69-67.
 
The Golden Bears finally managed to even up the score in the final minute of regulation as Evan Wesenberg connected on a jumper with 37 seconds left on the clock to make it 72-72. Sean Burns gave Minnesota Duluth the lead back with a layup with 15 seconds left, but Ward answered with one of his own at the eight second mark. Ward grabbed a steal before the buzzer, but was unable to connect on a game-winner as the game went to overtime.
 
It was all Golden Bears to open the overtime period as they carried over the momentum with the first six points to take an 80-74 lead. The lead remained in double digits until a three-point play cut it to 84-82 with 25 seconds left. After Ward hit two at the line, Wilson cut it to one with a three with seven seconds to go. Ward hit two more as UMD had the ball with a chance to tie it up, but they were unable to get a shot off as Concordia held on for the dramatic 88-85 victory.
 
The Golden Bears return home for their final two home games of the season next weekend as they play host to Winona State on Friday and Upper Iowa on Saturday.