WINONA, Minn. – Senior
Bryndan Matthews became the all-time leading scorer for the Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (9-18, 4-17 NSIC) as the Golden Bears put together a dominant second half to claim a 75-71 win at Winona State (11-16, 8-13 NSIC) on Friday night.
It was certainly a memorable night for Matthews as the Eagan native matched his career high with 34 points to bring his career scoring total to 1,784, surpassing Craig Heiman's mark of 1,768 set back in 2006-10. The 30+ point outburst was the senior guard's third of the year and also his third double-double as he pulled down a game-high 10 boards. Matthews further filled the stat sheet with a team-best five assists and two steals. 26 of Matthews' 34 points came in the second half as he hit an incredible 11-13 from the field after the break to finish the game at 15-20 overall. His 15 made field goals also matched a program record while his 34 points tied for fifth-most in a game at CSP.
Matthews' heroics gave the team just their fifth win ever in 28 trips to Winona as they moved to 7-46 overall in the all-time series with the Warriors.
Heading into the half trailing 45-30, Concordia exploded in the second half as they hit 19 of their 25 attempts from the floor (76.0%) to bring their total to 31-50 (62.0%) for the game. Their mark of 62.0% was the sixth-best in program history and best on the road since knocking down 68.9% (42-61) at Minnesota Crookston on Dec. 9, 2006.
While the second half shooting played a big role in the victory, CSP also held a 38-24 edge in points in the paint to aid the effort. The Warriors, on the other end, held a 26-22 edge on the glass and a 10-8 edge in threes made on the night. WSU finished the night at 45.6% (26-57) from the floor.
Matthews was not the only Golden Bear to reach double figures in scoring as fellow senior
Isaiah McKay poured in 15 points on 6-12 shooting and 3-6 from deep in the win.
Cody Carlson added eight points as well.
Caleb Wagner and Kevion Taylor shared the load offensively for Winona State as Wagner led the team with 24 points while Taylor followed close behind with 20. Wagner hit 9-16 from the field while Taylor was even better at 8-11. Tommy Gathje gave the Warriors a third player in double figures with 14 points in the loss.
The Warriors put CSP in an early hole with the first six points of the game and 11 of the first 13 to build a quick nine point advantage in the opening five minutes. The lead hit double figures at 15-5 and remained at nine at 20-11 before a 10-2 run the other way had the Golden Bears back to within one at 22-21. Concordia was unable to get over the hump to take the lead as WSU responded with a 14-2 burst to balloon the lead out to 13 at 36-23 with under five to play in the opening half. The Winona State lead grew to as many as 15 before the break as the Warriors took a 45-30 lead into the locker room.
The Warriors kept the Golden Bears at bay for much of the early portions of the second half as they maintained a double digit advantage at the 11:38 mark at 52-42 before Concordia turned it on down the stretch. A Matthews assist, bucket and a free throw had CSP back within four with a 6-0 run before the two teams traded baskets over the next few minutes. The Winona State lead was back to nine at 61-52 with 7:24 left following a Gathje three-pointer and back to eight at 66-58 with 5:10 left following a Wagner three, but it was all CSP from there.
Matthews scored six of the game's next 12 points with a pair of old-fashioned three-point plays while also dishing out an assist on a Carlson three to bring the Golden Bears to within two before a McKay three put Concordia in front 70-69 with 2:11 left on the clock. CSP would not trail again as McKay added another jumper before Matthews followed a pair of WSU free throws with a jumper and a free throw to ice the 75-71 victory.
The Golden Bears will look to make it two wins in a row as they close out the regular season tomorrow night at Upper Iowa. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
