ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (6-8, 4-6 NSIC) closes out their four game road trip this weekend as they travel to St. Cloud State (9-7. 6-4 NSIC) on Friday and Minnesota Duluth (13-3, 8-2 NSIC) on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the Golden Bears extended their winning streak to start 2020 to three with a victory over Southwest Minnesota State on Friday before falling to Sioux Falls on Saturday.

In Friday's 79-70 win, Concordia used an 11-0 run late in the first half to claim a lead it wouldn't relinquish, and then a 10-0 run just past the midway point of the second half after SMSU had cut a 14-point lead to just two. The Golden Bears got the job done from inside and from beyond the arc, outscoring the Mustangs 40-22 in the paint and hitting 53.3 percent (8-15) from the arc while holding SMSU to 39.1 percent (9-23) three-point shooting on its home nets.
 
On Saturday, CSP went into the break tied at 24-24 with NSIC-leading USF, but the Cougars outscored the Golden Bears 50-35 after the break. CSP held USF to just 18.2 percent (2-11) three-point shooting overall, but the Cougars used a 46-24 scoring advantage in the paint and had a 27-to-11 edge in free throw attempts which led to a +10 scoring margin at the line.
 
The Golden Bears utilized a balanced attack on the weekend with four players averaging 11.5 points per game or more. Jordan Coblin paced the squad with 14.0 points while Cody Carlson provided 13.5 points and 8.0 boards on 66.7% (10-15) shooting. Lee Higgins added 12.0 points while Jacob Shields chipped in 11.5.

SCSU SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears will meet the Huskies for the 28th time in series history on Friday as CSP has gone 7-20 in the previous 27 meetings. Concordia's best stretch in the series came between 2010-12 as they won three of four meetings during that span. Since then, SCSU has won six of the last eight with their lone win coming on Jan. 3, 2015 in St. Paul. In 14 meetings in St. Cloud, CSP has gone 2-12.

LAST MEETING VS SCSU
Nearly a year ago to the day on Jan. 18, 2019, CSP set a program record with 19 three-pointers made as they cruised to a 107-91 win over St. Cloud State.

Nearly every major single-game offensive record at Concordia was challenged in what was a stunning night for the Golden Bears. The 19 threes surpassed the previous top mark of 17 set back on Dec. 16, 2006 against UW-River Falls while their incredible 67.9% (19-28) from deep was second-best behind just the 73.9% (17-23) they hit against UWRF. CSP also put up their best overall field goal percentage as a team in nearly five years as their mark of 64.4% (38-59) was fourth-best in Concordia history. The team's 107 points were also the most in a conference game since scoring 109 in a 109-104 double overtime win over Southwest Minnesota State on Feb. 13, 2010.

It wasn't just team records that were in jeopardy on the night as Bryndan Matthews became the first Golden Bear in the DII era to record a triple-double with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in 30 minutes of work. Matthews connected on 9-13 from the floor and hit his lone attempt from three.
 
Matthews was one of seven CSP players to hit a three-pointer on the night as five of the seven hit at least two. Isaiah McKay knocked down 4-6 from beyond the arc and 8-12 from the field to pace the team with 26 points while he also dished out five assists and grabbed three boards.

ABOUT THE HUSKIES
Entering the weekend, St. Cloud State holds a record of 9-7 overall and 6-4 in conference play. The Huskies got off to a strong start in league action as they bounced back from a loss to UMD in the opener with five wins in six games, but they have dropped two of three since then.

St. Cloud State went 1-1 in North Dakota last weekend. The Huskies opened with a resounding 82-65 win at Minot State before falling to Mary on Saturday by a final score of 85-80. 

Currently, senior guard Trevon Marshall is averaging 20.8 points a game overall and is even better against conference opponents, averaging 25.1 points per game and 5.2 assists while shooting .528 from the floor. More impressively? Marshall has scored 30+ points in the last three games, including a career-high 36 point performance in the loss to Mary on Saturday.

UMD SERIES HISTORY
Heading into Saturday's matchup, the Golden Bears hold a record of 13-15 against the Bulldogs. The momentum has been heavily shifted in CSP's favor in the past few years as they have won 13 of the last 18 and and nine of the last 12 in the series. Concordia has been nearly even both at home and on the road in the series as they have gone 7-7 on their home court and 6-8 in Duluth.

LAST MEETING VS UMD
Back on Jan. 19, 2019, the Golden Bears saw Minnesota Duluth catch fire from beyond the arc in the first half as CSP fell 93-63 at Gangelhoff Center.

One night after connecting on a program-record 19 threes, the Golden Bears saw the Bulldogs flip the script and hit 16 threes on just 27 attempts (59.3%) against them to pull away for the win.

Concordia was unable to replicate their success from beyond the arc as they hit just 7-30 (23.3%) from deep and 22-62 (35.5%) overall. They did, however, manage a 21-11 advantage in bench scoring and a 12-8 advantage in points off of turnovers.
 
Bryndan Matthews paced CSP with 16 points on 6-9 shooting while Noah Kannegiesser added 14 points and Isaiah McKaychipped in 12.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
Tied for the top spot in the NSIC North, UMD enters the weekend riding high with a 13-3 mark overall and an 8-2 record in conference play. Sandwiched around a pair of NSIC losses in mid-December, the Bulldogs have put together a pair of four game winning streaks in conference play, including one still intact heading into Friday's meeting with MSU.

Last weekend, the Bulldogs took care of business on the road as they cruised to a 78-54 win at UMary on Friday night before grabbing a 93-69 win at Minot State on Saturday. Minnesota Duluth put together back-to-back dominant halves as they outscored the Marauders 48-29 in the second half on Friday's win and followed it up by outscoring the Beavers 49-34 in the first half.

UMD ranks first in the NSIC and 34th in DII in points per game, averaging 84.9 per game on the year. Brandon Myer leads the way with 21.5 per game, second in the NSIC (31st in DII). Drew Blair sitting in 16th with 15.1 per game and Alex Illikainen is sitting in 21st in the NSIC with 14.0. Myer has managed to put up eight double-doubles, which sits second in the NSIC (behind Wayne State College's Jordan Janssen (10)) and 7th in DII.

NSIC LEADERS
So far in the conference season, Concordia has been an efficient offensive squad as they rank fourth in the league in three-point percentage (40.2%) and fifth in field goal percentage (46.9%) while also ranking eighth in assists (13.0) and sixth in threes made (8.6). CSP has also been effective in wreaking havoc for their opponents as they rank sixth in steals per game (6.1) and 10th in blocks (2.7).
 
Individually, Jordan Coblin ranks in the top-20 of the league in nine different categories and in the top-10 in two of those categories. His 17.2 points per game rank 12th while his 4.8 assists per game rank second. He also sits in ninth in steals (1.3), 11th in assist/turnover ratio (1.4) and seventh in minutes (33.7) on the season.
 
Cody Carlson also ranks near the top in several areas as he sits in fifth in field goal percentage (53.6%) as well as 12th in rebounding (6.4), putting him in the top-20 in both offensive and defensive rebounding. Carlos Barela ranks ninth in steals (1.3) while Jacob Shields ranks 16th in blocks (0.8).