ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (4-7, 2-5 NSIC) caught fire in the second half to pull away for a 79-65 win over University of Mary (7-6, 2-5 NSIC) on Friday night at Gangelhoff Center.
The Golden Bears made it three straight wins over the Marauders and nine wins in the last 11 as they improved to 15-8 in the all-time series.
While the Golden Bears connected on a solid 45.2% from the floor in the opening half, they were even better after the break as they hit 60.7% of their shots and 63.6% from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes. Overall, CSP hit 52.5% (31-59) and 50.0% (11-22) from deep. CSP's defense was equally effective as they held UMary to 40.0% or below in each half to finish the game at 38.8% (19-49) and just 28.6% (6-21) from three-point range.
CSP led in most other categories as well with a 36-25 edge in rebounding to go along with a 20-13 edge in fast break points, a 17-12 edge in points off of turnovers, a 30-24 edge in points in the paint and a 7-2 edge in second chance points.
Lee Higgins was nearly perfect from the floor as he needed just 10 shots to score 20 points as he hit 8-10 shooting and 4-4 from beyond the arc in the win. He also added eight boards, four steals and two assists on the night.
Cody Carlson was nearly as effective from deep with a career-high five threes on seven attempts to finish with 17 points and six rebounds on the night.
Jordan Coblin added 12 points, nine assists and three rebounds while
Max Keefe chipped in eight points off the bench.
Matthew Kreklow was one of three UMary players to reach double figures in scoring as he tallied 16 points and six boards in the loss. Jaylan White added 11 points while Connor Hellebust had 10.
Concordia found themselves in an early hole as Mary rattled off a 7-0 run as a part of a larger 13-2 run following a Carlson three to open the game as the Marauders held an eight point advantage at the first media timeout. The Golden Bears wasted little time battling back as they strung together a 14-0 run of their own spanning five minutes to turn a 16-9 deficit into a 23-16 lead just past the midway point of the half. CSP continued to maintain a comfortable edge until late in the half as another big run shifted the momentum yet again.
With the Golden Bears holding a 31-23 lead with just 3:42 before the break, UMary put together a barrage of 10 points in a minute and half to regain the lead. A late layup from
Max Keefe following a free throw on each end brought the score to 34-34 heading to the locker room.
The Marauders regained the lead in the opening moments of the second half, but CSP quickly turned things in their favor with nine straight points to take a 45-38 lead. That lead eventually reached double figures at 53-43 at the 11:55 mark of the half before UMary cut it in half with the next five in a row.
That proved to be all the closer they would get as the lead was back in double figures at 62-50 following back-to-back three-pointers. The lead grew to as many as 16 in the final minute before the Golden Bears settled with a 79-65 win in their first game after the holiday break.
Concordia will look to make it two wins in a row tomorrow night as they take on Minot State at Gangelhoff Center at 5:30 p.m.
