ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (2-2, 0-0 NSIC) opens up NSIC play at home this weekend with Sioux Falls (5-2, 1-0 NSIC) and Southwest Minnesota State (3-4, 0-1 NSIC) coming to Gangelhoff Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. against the Cougars on Friday and 5:30 p.m. against the Mustangs on Saturday.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Last Tuesday, CSP rode a 28-3 second half run to close out non-conference play with a 75-61 win over Northland (2-5) on Tuesday night at Gangelhoff Center.
 
Trailing 53-43 with 14:55 left to play, the Golden Bears buckled down to hold the Lumberjacks to just three points on 1-16 shooting with five turnovers over the next 10:29 to turn a 10 point deficit into a 15 point lead. While the defense was stifling, Noah Kannegiesser carried the load offensively during that stretch as he scored 14 of the team's 28 points during the run.
 
Kannegiesser led all scorers with a career-best 29 points in the game as he hit an efficient 10-17 from the floor, 4-8 from three-point range and 5-5 from the free throw line. He added four rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win.
 
Jacob Shields and Cody Carlson helped CSP dominate on the glass as Concordia held a 50-30 advantage in rebounds with a 15-9 edge on the offensive glass. Both finished with double-doubles as Shields had 11 points, 12 boards and five blocks while Carlson added 12 points and 11 rebounds. Carlos Barela also reached double figures with 10 points with seven assists and five boards in the game.
 
In addition to their edge on the glass, the Golden Bears also held a massive 30-14 edge in points in the paint as well as a 20-6 edge in second chance points. CSP also finished the game at 46.8% (29-62) from the field while Northland hit 34.4% (22-64) on the night.
 
USF SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears and Cougars are meeting for the 24th time in the all-time series on Friday as CSP enters with a 6-17 record against USF. The Golden Bears have been able to turn the tide in their favor a little bit more in recent years as they followed up 10 losses in 11 meetings by taking three of four between 2015 and 2016. In the last few years, the Cougars returned to their winning ways by winning each of the last six meetings. Concordia has collected a 4-7 record at home all-time against USF.
 
LAST MEETING VS USF
Back on Jan. 12, the Golden Bears saw Sioux Falls build a big early advantage before handing the Golden Bears a 95-64 loss at Gangelhoff Center.
 
The Cougars made it six straight wins over the Golden Bears as they controlled the game in nearly every aspect of the game. USF was an impressive 16-31 (51.6%) from beyond the arc to fuel a 37-71 (52.1%) performance from the field while holding the Concordia to 37.3% (22-59) shooting and 41.7% (10-24) from deep. The 16 threes hit by the Cougars was a season high for a Concordia opponent. USF also held a big 43-31 rebounding edge for a 16-11 advantage in second chance points while also outscoring CSP 38-24 in the paint. The Cougars also turned 16 Golden Bear turnovers into 23 points while CSP turned 10 USF turnovers into 13 points.
 
Noah Kannegiesser provided a major bright spot for the Golden Bears as he turned in perhaps his best performance of his young career as he scored a career-best 15 points on 6-12 from the field and 2-3 from three-point range while also chipping in career highs in assists and steals with three apiece. Sophomore Cody Carlson gave Concordia three underclassmen in double figures with 14 points and seven boards. Carlson's 14 points marked his fourth straight game with at least 11 points.
 
ABOUT THE COUGARS
The Cougars have gotten off to a strong start to the 2019-20 season as they claimed wins in five of their seven contests, including four of the last five. Three of the team's five wins have been by seven points or less as they grabbed a 64-63 win over Lincoln as well as a 62-59 win over Chadron State and a 77-70 win over CSU Pueblo.
 
On Saturday, Sioux Falls kicked off conference play with a victory as they cruised to a 74-56 win over the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State. Leading the way for USF was redshirt sophomore forward Chase Grinde who had 19 points, seven rebounds and an assist, steal and block in 35 minutes on the floor. USF head coach Chris Johnson registered his 200^th career win on the night.
 
With three double doubles in seven games this season, junior forward Teathloach Pal is one-half of a strong front court combo with junior Austin Slater. Pal was named the NSIC Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Nov. 18 after scoring a career-high 26 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in the win over Dakota State at the Stewart Center. Pal, a junior forward from Fridley, Minn., is averaging a double-double with 11.3 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, which leads the NSIC. He also has a league-best 4.9 offensive rebounds per game.
 
SMSU SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears enter Saturday night's contest with a record of 11-30 against Southwest Minnesota State. After losing seven straight in the series from 2011-14, CSP won three out of four meetings in 2015 and 2016. The Mustangs then followed with six straight victories before the Golden Bears snapped that streak last season in St. Paul. In 20 all-time meetings in St. Paul, Concordia holds a record of 8-12.
 
LAST MEETING VS SMSU
In the meeting on Jan. 11, Concordia stifled Southwest Minnesota State for much of the night before surviving a late push to claim a 76-70 win on Friday night at Gangelhoff Center.
 
The Golden Bears held SMSU to 36.7% (22-60) from the floor and 26.9% (7-26) from three over the first 38:36 before the Mustangs hit five of their final six shots, including four of the final five from three, to make it a game in the final minute of play. Concordia managed to hang on with some stellar free throw shooting down the stretch.
 
Concordia finished the game an extremely efficient 88.9% (24-27) from the free throw line while also hitting 46.9% (23-49) from the field to aid the effort. The Golden Bears also dominated on the glass with a 42-24 edge in rebounds. SMSU, on the other end, turned 17 CSP turnovers into 23 points while committing just seven turnovers and allowing just 11 points off turnovers in the losing effort.
 
Cody Carlson finished with a career-best 22 points on 7-9 shooting, 2-2 from three while also knocking down 6-8 from the line while he also chipped in five boards in the win. It was the sophomore big man's third consecutive game in double figures after scoring 19 at UMary and 11 at Minot State.
 
Isaiah McKay added a solid performance of his own with 19 points on 6-11 shooting while hitting a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line to go along with a team-best seven rebounds and four assists in the win. Bryndan Matthews also scored in double figures with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in a full line as well.
 
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
One of the top teams in the NSIC in recent years, Southwest Minnesota State has posted a combined record of 74-33 the past three-plus seasons (start of 2016-17 to current) which includes two NSIC South Division titles and three appearances in the NSIC Tournament championship game. The 71 victories entering this season is the best three-year run in program history.
 
SMSU set a team record last season shooting 81.3 percent from the free throw line, but is shooting just 59 percent following seven games this season. SMSU has outrebounded its opponents three times through seven games this season. Last season, SMSU outrebounded its opponent just twice in its last 21 games and finished last in the NSIC in rebound margin (-8.5). SMSU was outrebounded 41-19 in last Saturday's loss at Sioux Falls. SMSU scored a season-high 82 points, shot as season-high 56 percent from the field, including 72 percent in the second half, in the win over Minnesota Morris on Nov. 22. SMSU has held a plus-15 rebound advantage in two games this season (+17 at Central Missouri and +19 versus Minnesota Morris). SMSU is shooting 46 percent from the field, 35 percent from 3-point range, 59 percent from the free throw line and is plus-1.7 in rebound margin. SMSU is averaging 67 points per game, while opponents are averaging 68 points per game.
 
Junior Kenny Byers leads the team in both scoring (13.6) and rebounding (7.9) and has recorded a team-high three double-doubles this season. SMSU has six players averaging seven points or more per game. Sophomore Grant Kramer has dished out a team-high 19 assists. Junior Nick Dufault, who scored a season-high 17 points, which included a career-high seven free throws made in the loss to Sioux Falls last Saturday, has connected on a team-high 12 3-pointers. He ranks fourth in team history in 3-point field goal pct. (42.7). SMSU made a season-low 19 field goals on a season-low 49 field goal attempts in the loss at Sioux Falls. Freshman Cliff McCray scored a career-high 14 points on 6 of 13 shooting in last Saturday's loss at Sioux Falls. He has reached double figure scoring in three straight games and four times overall.   
 
NSIC LEADERS
Early in the season, Concordia has taken advantage of a solid defense and an advantage on the glass to find success. CSP has held their opponents to just 38.6% from the floor, good for second in the NSIC, while also holding opponents to the seventh-fewest points at 68.3 per night. Concordia has also limited second chance opportunities as their 31.3 defensive rebounds per game rank second in the NSIC and their +9.3 rebounding margin ranks fifth.
 
Individually, Jordan Coblin ranks in the top-15 of the league in six different categories. The junior leads the league with a mark of 50.0% from beyond the arc while his overall percentage of 52.8% from the floor sits in 13^th. He also ranks fifth in assists per game at 4.0 in addition to ranking 11^th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7), 12^th in scoring (16.3) and 13^th in steals (1.3)
 
While he has been efficient from the floor Noah Kannegiesser has been even more efficient at 55.0% overall, good for ninth in the NSIC, while his 14.3 points per game ranks 23^rd. Jacob Shields has provided the Golden Bears with a physical presence as his 1.8 blocks per game sit in fifth and his 7.5 boards per game sit in 10^th in the conference. Cody Carlson has added 7.0 rebounds per game, good for 14^th, as well as a 54.1% shooting percentage, good for 12^th.