ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (3-6, 1-4 NSIC) fell to Minnesota State (4-7, 2-3 NSIC) in their final home game of 2019 by a score of 82-58 at Gangelhoff Center on Wednesday night.
 
The Mavericks made it 15 wins the past 16 meetings between the two schools as CSP dropped to 6-27 all-time against MSU in the loss.
 
Minnesota State led from wire to wire as they built a large lead midway through the contest before holding off a late Golden Bear surge to claim the victory. Concordia held MSU to just 42.9% (27-63) from the floor on the night but connected on 36.2% (21-58) on the offensive end in the loss. Three-point shooting played a major role as the Mavericks 48.6% (17-35) compared to 36.8% (7-19) for the Golden Bears. MSU also held a 45-34 edge on the glass, including a 13-6 edge in offensive boards, while Concordia finished with a 22-3 advantage in fast break points to go along with a 26-18 advantage in points in the paint.
 
Cody Carlson paced the squad with 18 points and seven boards as he hit 7-16 from the field and 3-4 from the line while Carlos Barela filled the stat sheet with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists in the loss.
 
Ryland Holt led the way for the Mavericks with 21 points and 12 rebounds for the double-double while Malik Willingham added a double-double of his own with 17 point, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
 
The Golden Bears found themselves in an early hole as Minnesota State opened on a 15-5 run over the first three and a half minutes, but they eventually had it back down to four with a 9-3 run going the other way. That would be all the closer they would get as the lead reached double figures for good at 30-20 with 6:56 to go in the opening half. The lead eventually reached 19 late in the half following a 14-2 run spanning seven minutes as MSU took a 43-24 lead into the break.
 
The deficit was back down to 16 at 46-30 early in the second half, but an extended 20-5 run pushed the lead beyond 30 to put the game out of reach. It grew to as many as 33 before the Golden Bears trimmed the lead with a 13-1 run, but it would be too little too late as the Mavericks claimed the 82-58 victory.
 
The two teams will be back in action in just three days as Concordia and Minnesota State will meet at Taylor Center in Mankato on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. in the final contest of the year for both teams.