ST. PAUL, Minn. – After a weekend on the road, the Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (8-12, 3-11 NSIC) will return to the Gangelhoff Center this week to face two NSIC North Division teams in Northern State (15-5, 11-3 NSIC) and MSU Moorhead (15-7, 9-5 NSIC). The Golden Bears play the Wolves on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and the Dragons on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
In their last two contests, the Golden Bears took on two of the top teams in the NSIC South, falling in both games by less than 10 points. Senior Isaiah McKay was the team's leading scorer over the weekend, averaging 21.0 points per game and dishing out seven assists throughout the contests.
 
CSP first traveled to Augustana and the two teams were tied at halftime, each with 41 points. However, the Vikings put together the stronger second half, going on to win 78-70. The Bears held a slight rebounding edge in the game (39-36), but Augie took advantage of their nine offensive boards, scoring 13 second chance points to CSP's four. Both teams shot over 40.0% throughout the contest, and Concordia shot better from three, but Augustana made some critical shots in the last minutes and sealed the win with free throws.
 
McKay, senior Bryndan Matthews, and sophomore Cody Carlson all ended in double figures for the Bears, with McKay leading the way with 19 points, five assists, four rebounds, and a steal. Matthews added 16 points, while also collecting a team-high nine rebounds and five assists. Carlson chipped in with 12 points and seven boards.
 
On Sunday, the Golden Bears faced Wayne State, who is tied with Minnesota State for first place in the NSIC South. The Wildcats entered the halftime break with a three point lead and went on to claim a 77-68 victory. CSP shot over 40.0% from the field throughout the game, but were cold from three, hitting only six of their 25 attempts (24.0%). However, the Wildcats also only hit six threes throughout the game, but instead capitalized on points from the free throw line, scoring 21 from the charity stripe, compared to the Bears' 10.
 
McKay was once again the leading scorer for Concordia, scoring 23 points. Matthews and Carlson each put up a double-double performance for CSP, as Matthews ended with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Carlson finished with 13 points and a game-high 14 boards.
 
NORTHERN STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears hold a 7-29 all-time series record against the Wolves, with NSU taking four wins in five of the teams' last matchups. Concordia plays better against Northern State at home, as six of their seven wins against NSU were at the Gangelhoff Center, including their last win over the Wolves on January 30^th, 2016.
 
LAST MEETING VS NSU
The last time that the Bears faced the Wolves was in the first round of last season's NSIC playoff tournament when NSU was ranked 11^th in the country. Northern State took a 20-point lead into halftime and cruised to an 80-52 win.
 
The Wolves posted an impressive 53.2% shooting percentage in the contest, while holding Concordia to 33.9% from the floor. NSU also capitalized on turnovers and offensive rebounds, scoring 19 points off turnovers and 13 second chance points.
 
Matthews, Avan Ward, and Ted Brown were the top scorers for the Golden Bears. Matthews was two rebounds shy of a double-double, tallying 13 points and eight boards. Ward and Brown also finished in double figures, with 11 and 10 points, respectively.   
 
ABOUT THE WOLVES
Northern State is currently atop the NSIC North Division with an 11-3 conference record. The team is most recently coming off a split weekend, defeating St. Cloud State, 77-73, before falling to Minnesota Duluth, 76-70. Their other conference losses come from MSU Moorhead and Wayne State.
 
The Wolves currently rank first in the NSIC in points against, holding teams to an average of 67.7 points per game. They also rank second in scoring margin (+10.4), second in field goal percentage (49.1%), and first in three-point percentage (41.3%). NSU is a strong rebounding team, posting a +7.8 rebounding margin, but generally losses the turnover battle, recording a -1.6 turnover margin.  
 
Four of Northern State's players are averaging double figures, with three other players who average between seven and nine points per game. Senior guard Ian Smith is the team's top scorer, averaging 13.9 points per game, while also leading the team in assists (109). Their other top three scorers (Parker Fox, Justin Decker, and Bo Fries) are all shooting 50.0% or better from the floor. The team shares the rebounding duties, as five players are averaging between four and six rebounds a game.
 
MSU MOORHEAD SERIES HISTORY
This weekend will be Concordia's 33^rd meeting with MSU Moorhead, where the Bears own a 13-19 overall record in the series. CSP has won three of their last five matchups against the Dragons, including the last two in a row. When playing at home, the Golden Bears are 9-6 and have won three of their last four home contests against MSUM.
 
LAST MEETING VS MSUM
Concordia last took on the Dragons on December 31^st, 2017, when they posted a 72-62 win on their home floor. The game went back-and-forth in the first half, with neither team being able to build up more than a seven point lead.
 
CSP had a three point lead at the half, and the game remained particularly close until halfway through the second half when the Bears were able to put some separation between themselves and MSUM. An Elliot Kane three with 6:28 left in the game put CSP up by 12 and they held their double digit lead for the remainder of the game.
 
The Golden Bears held the Dragons to a 38.2% field goal percentage, while shooting 48.4% from the floor themselves. Concordia also scored 16 points off of turnovers and 15 second chance points. Ward paced the offense, scoring 20 points on 8-15 shooting. Evan Wesenberg, Brown, and Max Keefe also ended in double figures.
 
ABOUT THE DRAGONS
MSU Moorhead is in a tie with St. Cloud State for second place in the NSIC North. The two teams met just last weekend and St. Cloud walked away with a 99-84 victory over the Dragons. Seven of MSUM's 14 conference games have been extremely close, as they were decided by five points or less.
 
The Dragons can boast of averaging the most points of any NSIC team, at 86.6 points per game. The team posts a +8.3 scoring margin and also ranks first in the NSIC in shooting percentage (50.8%) and third in three-point percentage (41.2%).
 
Five of MSU Moorhead's players are averaging double figures on the year, being led by senior center Addison Park, who averages 15.5 points per game while shooting 56.0% from the field. The Dragons also have the conference's best three-point shooter (by percentage) in freshman Gavin Baumgartner, who averages 14.5 points while shooting 55.1% from beyond the arc.   
 
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 ninth in the NSIC and 84^th in NCAA DII in scoring (18.7) while ranking second in the conference and 56^th in the nation in rebounding (8.5). Matthews currently leads the conference in field goal percentage (60.5%) which ranks 17^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 sixth in the NSIC and 107^th in the nation in assists per game (4.3), third in the NSIC and 39^th in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (6.4), and fourth in the NSIC and 47^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. McKay ranks eighth in the NSIC and 71^st in the nation in scoring (19.3) while ranking fourth in the conference and 36^th in the nation in free throw percentage (88.7%) and ninth in the conference in threes made per game (2.5). He also ranks tenth in the NSIC in assists per game (3.5).
 
Hayden Baughman ranks 12^th in the league in threes made per game (2.3) and 13^th in three-point percentage (44.1%).
 
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 (1,640), second in rebounding (750), third in rebounds per game (7.0), second in field goals made (606), second in free throws made (362), sixth in assists (269), and sixth in steals (127) in his career at CSP. Matthews is 128 points shy of Craig Heiman for the all-time scoring record at Concordia.