MINOT, N.D. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (6-8, 1-7 NSIC) was unable to hang onto a double-digit first half lead as Minot State (7-10, 2-6 NSIC) pulled away in the second half to hand the Golden Bears an 88-75 loss on Saturday.
The Beavers continued their dominance in the series history as they picked up their sixth win in seven meetings with CSP, including four in four in Minot. Minot State took advantage of some hot shooting on the night as they hit 52.5% (31-59) from the floor, 45.2% (14-31) from three-point range, and 85.7% (12-14) from the free throw line. Minot State also held a 14-8 edge in turnovers forced and a 22-7 edge in bench scoring in the game.
The Golden Bears were also efficient from the floor as they shot 50.8% (31-61), but they were unable to replicate MiSU's success from deep as they hit just 30.4% (7-23) of their attempts from beyond the arc. On the other side, CSP led 32-28 on the glass and 30-22 in points in the paint.
Concordia's two leading scorers were once again the senior pair of
Bryndan Matthews and
Isaiah McKay as the two of them combined for 43 of the team's 75 points on the night. Matthews hit 9-13 from the floor to lead the team with 22 points to go along with eight rebounds while McKay knocked down 9-16 to finish with 21 points as well as six assists.
Joining Matthews and McKay in double figures for Concordia were
Cody Carlson and
Elliot Kane as both finished with 11 points. Carlson also chipped in 11 rebounds for his first career double-double while
Elliot Kane connected on three threes in the game.
Kyle Beisch led the way for the Beavers with 23 points as he hit 5-8 from beyond the arc while Drake Jeffries also connected on five threes for 17 points. David Akibo also reached 20+ points as he scored 20 with five boards and a pair of assists in the win.
After the two team split the first 10 points of the game, Concordia took control with a 7-2 run to take a 12-7 lead just over five minutes. Minot State pulled back within two with a three-pointer and remained within three at 14-11 before the Golden Bears exploded for 12 straight points to build their largest lead of the day at 26-11. CSP continued to maintain a comfortable lead until an 8-0 run for the Beavers turned a 31-19 Concordia lead at the 8:31 mark into a 31-27 edge just a few minutes later. Another run before the break, this time a 10-2 run spanning four and a half minutes put Minot State in front 39-37 with 11 seconds to go before the break. Matthews knocked down a couple of free throws with one second on the clock to send it to the break with the score even at 39-39.
The Beavers opened the second half with the first four points as they held a small lead for the first few minutes after the break. With the lead still at four at 52-48 four minutes into the half, Concordia picked up a layup and a three to regain the lead at 53-52 before Minot State regained control. After the two teams traded layups, MiSU rattled off a 10-2 run to push their lead out to seven at 64-57 just past the midway point of the half. The lead would not shrink below two possessions the rest of the way as the Beavers extended their lead to double figures at 76-65 with 5:25 on the clock. The Golden Bears managed to close the gap back to seven in the final five minutes, but that would be all the closer they would get as MiSU hit a few timely shots and iced it at the free throw line to close out the 88-75 victory.
Concordia returns home next weekend as the Golden Bears host Southwest Minnesota State on Friday night and Sioux Falls on Saturday night.
