ST. PAUL, Minn. – After a four-game homestand, the Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (8-10, 3-9 NSIC) will hit the road this weekend to take on Augustana (12-6, 8-4 NSIC) and Wayne State (14-4, 9-3 NSIC). Games will be played on Saturday and Sunday this week, as the Golden Bears face Augusta on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and Wayne State on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
For the second straight weekend, the Golden Bears went 1-1 at home, defeating their Friday opponent, before falling on Saturday. Concordia's offense excelled on Friday, leading them to a 107-91 win over St. Cloud State, one of the top teams in the NSIC North.
 
 Many CSP offense records were in challenged in the contest, as the Bears hit a record 19 threes and senior Bryndan Matthews became the first ever Golden Bear in the DII era to record a triple-double with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. With their 107 points scored, the Bears put up their most points in a NSIC game since 2010. The team's 64.4% field goal percentage in the game was Concordia's best in nearly five years and their fourth-best in program history. The Golden Bears also hit 67.9% of their attempts from three, which is CSP's second best single game three point percentage in history and their best in over ten years.
 
In the win, the Golden Bears had their fair share of contributors as five players ended in double figures. Senior Isaiah McKay led the way with 26 points, followed closely by Matthews with 21. Sophomore Cody Carlson was next with 19 points on 7-11 shooting (63.6%) and freshman Hayden Baughman hit 5-6 (83.3%) from deep for 15 points. Senior Elliot Kane was the final double digit player for CSP, adding 11 points, making three of four from beyond the arc.
 
The roles were reversed on Saturday as Minnesota Duluth knocked down 16 threes on their way to a 93-63 win over CSP. Concordia was held to a 35.5% (22-62) field goal percentage on the night, hitting only 23.3% (7-30) from deep. Matthews led the team with 16 points and freshman Noah Kannegiesser added his third double digit game of the season with 14 points. McKay also ended in double figures, with 12 points on the night.
 
AUGUSTANA SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears enter Saturday with a 5-20 overall record against the Vikings, last defeating Augustana on January 3, 2012 in St. Paul. CSP has had tough luck on the road against Augie, posting a 1-10 record in Sioux Falls. In their last win in Sioux Falls, the Bears pulled out an 89-84 overtime win back in 2004.
 
LAST MEETING VS AUGIE
In their last matchup, Augustana defeated CSP 76-60 on their home floor. The Golden Bears hit only four of 21 from behind the arc, while the Vikings hit nine threes and made 47.4% (27-57) of their field goals. Augie also capitalized on fast break points, holding a 19-2 edge in the category, while also scoring 16 points off of Concordia turnovers.
 
The Bears held tight in the first half, trailing Augustana by one, 28-27, at the break. Each team had made 11 field goals in the half, but CSP held a large rebounding advantage (21-13) through the first 20 minutes. In the second half, Augustana used a seven point run early in the half to take an eight point lead and another seven point run to take a double digit lead later in the half. Concordia kept battling and cut the lead to six with 8:56 still left to play, but the Vikings bounced back to pull away with the victory.
 
Ted Brown was the top scorer for the Bears in the contest, going 7-9 from the floor and 1-2 from the line for 15 points. Matthews added 12 points in the game, half of which came from the charity stripe.
 
ABOUT THE VIKINGS
The Vikings are currently in a three-way tie for second place in the NSIC South Division with an 8-4 record. The team started the conference season strong, winning six of their first seven NSIC games. From there, they have cooled off a little bit, going 2-2 in their past two weekends.
 
Augustana's offense averages 77.9 points per game and a 44.4% field goal percentage so far on the year. They present a strong rebounding presence, as they hold a +5.3 rebounding margin, which ranks third highest in the NSIC. The Vikings also have a high free throw percentage, cashing in on 78.0% of their attempts, ranking second in the conference in that category.
 
Their top scorer is found in sophomore Tyler Riemersma, who was averaging 17.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in the first ten games of the season, but he has not competed since mid-December. The Vikings have three other scorers averaging double figures, in sophomore Matt Cartwright (16.0 ppg, 47.0% FG), freshman A.J. Plitzuweit (13.8 ppg, 3.8 apg), and freshman Michael Schaefer (11.5 ppg, 47.1% FG).
 
WAYNE STATE SERIES HISTORY
Concordia will meet Wayne State for the 40^th time on Sunday, as they hold an 18-21 overall record against the Wildcats. WSC has taken four of the last five games in the series, winning the last matchup by 12 in Wayne, Nebraska. When playing the Wildcats on the road, CSP is 6-13 overall, last defeating Wayne State on their home court on January 10, 2015.
 
LAST MEETING VS WSC
The Golden Bears' last meeting with Wayne State was on January 5, 2018 in Nebraska when the Wildcats earned an 83-71 win over CSP. Despite shooting a solid 45.3% in the contest, Wayne State managed to shoot even better at 53.6%, hitting 30 of 56 shots. WSC also held a 35-24 rebounding advantage, but were unable to really capitalize, scoring only three more second chance points than the Bears.
 
CSP got down early in the first half, as a seven minute scoring draught allowed the Wildcats to build up an 18 point lead, which was cut down to 15 at the intermission. The Golden Bears rallied in the second half, outscoring their opponents 48-45 and getting the game back within six points with 11:21 left. However, the Wildcats recovered and used an eight point run to regain their double digit lead, which they would keep for majority of the rest of the game.
 
Ahmad Newsome was the biggest offensive threat for the Bears in the game, scoring a career-high 20 points, hitting 6-11 from the floor and knocking down all eight of his free-throw attempts. Avan Ward and Max Keefe also ended with double digit points, as Ward added 16 and Keefe chipped in with 12.
 
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Wayne State currently leads the NSIC South Division with a 9-3 record in conference play. Similarly to Augustana, they got out to a fast start, winning their first five NSIC contests. Four of those five wins were all by score margins of 11 points or greater. Most recently, the Wildcats split their last weekend series, falling to MSU Moorhead before defeating Northern State. Each of those games were decided by four points or less.
 
As a team, WSC leads the NSIC in scoring margin, at 11.8. They are also ranked third in the conference in team field goal percentage (45.8%) and third in free throw percentage (77.4%), but rank 15^th in three point percentage (34.2). They hold a +2.6 rebounding margin and lead the conference in steals per game, at 8.1
 
The Wildcats have a versatile offense, as four of their starters average double figures, with their final starter averaging 9.4 points per game. Senior Trevin Joseph paces the team with 17.7 points per game and teammate Kendall Jacks is not far behind, averaging 15.6 points while shooting 52.3% from the floor. Jordan Janssen is their leading rebounder, collecting an average of 7.2 a game, while also scoring 10.3 points per game.
 
NCAA/NSIC LEADERS
Heading into this weekend, the Golden Bears had several players rank near the top of the NSIC and the nation in different statistical categories.
 
Bryndan Matthews has been one of the top players in the country this season as he ranks eighth in the NSIC and 72^nd in NCAA DII in scoring (19.0) while ranking second in the conference and 61^st in the nation in rebounding (8.3). Matthews currently leads the conference in field goal percentage (61.9%) which ranks 14^th in the nation, and with his triple-double against St. Cloud State, Matthews became one of 12 players in NCAA DII to record a triple-double this season. Matthews also registers in at fifth in the NSIC and 101^st in the nation in assists per game (4.1), tied for third in the NSIC and 42^nd in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (6.3), and fifth in the NSIC and 46^th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4).
 
In addition, Isaiah McKay ranks near the top in quite a few categories as well. McKary ranks seventh in the NSIC and 71^st in the nation in scoring (19.1) while ranking fourth in the conference and 45^th in the nation in free throw percentage (88.1%) and ninth in the conference in threes made per game (2.4). He also ranks tenth in the NSIC in assists per game (3.4) and tied for tenth in defensive rebounds per game (4.7).
 
Hayden Baughman also ranks tenth in the league in threes made per game (2.4 ) and 14^th in three-point percentage (45.9%).
 
CLIMBING THE RANKS
 Senior Bryndan Matthews has been a major contributor throughout his four seasons on campus and is climbing the career ranks at Concordia. The Eagan native is up to second in scoring (1,609), third in rebounding (731), third in rebounds per game (7.0), second in field goals made (595), second in free throws made (356), sixth in assists (261), and sixth in steals (125) in his career at CSP. Matthews is 159 points shy of Craig Heiman for the all-time scoring record at Concordia.