ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team opens up the regular season this weekend as they host the DoubleTree by Hilton Roseville Minneapolis Classic at Gangelhoff Center on Friday and Saturday.
 
DOUBLETREE BY HILTON ROSEVILLE MINNEAPOLIS CLASSIC
This weekend, the NSIC takes on the MIAA as Concordia, Southwest Minnesota State, Newman and Rogers State converge on Gangelhoff Center. Following a 4 p.m. tip on Friday between Southwest Minnesota State and Rogers State, the Golden Bears kick off their season against Newman at 6 p.m.
 
The four teams return on Saturday with SMSU and NU facing off at noon before CSP and RSU close out the weekend at 2 p.m.
 
The Hillcats of Rogers State finished seventh in the MIAA with an 11-12 overall record last season while the Jets of Newman took 14^th with a mark of 4-18. The Golden Bears will be meeting the Jets and the Hillcats for the first time ever this weekend.
 
The Golden Bears will get an early test with a pair of in-region opponents as they look to gauge where they stand early in the season. Head coach Matt Fletcher said of the schedule, 'They are going to be some really tough games, but I'm excited to see where we're at right now. The two teams are going to be very comparable to what we are going to face in the NSIC, so we can learn what we need to work on and what we can get better at moving into the conference season."
 
There will be a familiar face in the gym this weekend as former Golden Bear student-athlete and assistant coach RJ Allen returns to town as the head coach of Newman. "I've known RJ for a while now, and when I got the job, one of the first things we talked about was how he really wanted to play at the Gangelhoff Center again. From there, it all came together for them (along with RSU and SMSU) to come play here," said Fletcher.
 
Live video and live stats will be available for all four games over the weekend.
 
EXHIBITION UPDATE
Last week in exhibition play, the Golden Bears got off to a promising start as they managed to outscore a pair of Division I opponents in the second half in some strong showings.
 
In a hard-fought 80-67 loss to Minnesota at Williams Arena last Monday, the Golden Bears gave the Golden Gophers all they could handle on their home court as they outscored the hosts 39-36 after the break and had the deficit within nine in the final few minutes of play.
 
It was a balanced effort offensively for CSP as four different players registered at least 13 points in the game. Caden Hoffman led the team with 14 points on 4-6 from deep while also pulling down three rebounds and dishing out three assists. Jack Stensgard collected a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and five steals on 5-7 from the floor.
 
Against Weber State on Thursday, CSP caught fire after the break to outscore the Wildcats 53-45 in the final 20 minutes. In the final period, CSP connected on 52.6% (20-38) from the floor and 52.9% (9-17) from beyond the arc.
 
Freshmen Reid Patterson and Ian Sluice each knocked three three-pointers off the bench as Patterson scored 11 points on 4-5 shooting while Sluice scored nine on 3-5 from deep. Marcus Skeete paced the Golden Bears with 15 points, seven boards and three steals in 23 minutes of action while Elijah Ormiston connected on 5-9 from the floor to finish with a dozen points.
 
"I think the biggest thing the exhibitions did for us was show us that when we do things the right way and when we play our style we can compete with anyone, win or lose," said Fletcher. He added, "It was really good for us to learn and get guys that have never played collegiate basketball games at ton of minutes."
 
NSIC AT A GLANCE
A year after playing an abbreviated conference schedule that saw the Golden Bears face off against primarily NSIC South competition, the team will get their first look at a full NSIC slate under Coach Fletcher this season. The NSIC regular season championship will be based on the 22-game schedule. Each team will play teams in their division twice (14) and teams in the other division once (8). An NSIC North and South Division Champion will also be awarded. Divisional standings will also be based on all 22 NSIC contests played. In the case of a tie, co-champions will be awarded.
 
While this will be Fletcher's first full NSIC season at the helm, the former Southwest Minnesota State standout is no stranger to the quality of the league. "It's a special league," said Fletcher. "I think it's one of the best leagues in the country year in and year out, and you're going to have to bring it every single night no matter who you play. It's a bunch of well-coached teams with some great players that play really hard. I'm thankful to be a part of it and look forward to seeing what we can do."
 
MSU Moorhead was selected by the league coaches as the preseason favorite in the NSIC for the 2021-22 season. The Dragons received 222 points, garnering 13 first places votes to sit 27 points ahead of second place Wayne State. The Wildcats had 195 points and two first place votes. Minnesota State was third with 192 points and the other first place vote. CSP was picked to finish 14th in the conference and eighth in the south division.
 
The 12-team NSIC / Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Championships are set to take place February 26 to March 1 at the Sanford Health Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The top two seeds in each division will receive a first round bye. First round games will be played on campus on Wednesday, Feb. 23.
 
#BEDIFFERENT
One of the keys tenets of the Matt Fletcher era at Concordia has been creating a "be different" culture for the program.
 
Speaking on the topic, Fletcher said, "One of my least favorite words in normal. We want to do things that are different than a normal program and we want instill that in our players as well." He continued, "The normal student is lazy and spends more time playing video games than studying. The normal kids are going to show up to practice or weights and say 'we just have to get through it' instead of changing their thought process and focusing on the bigger reward. We want to focus on what we are trying to achieve instead of taking the easy way out which is hard to do. Every team is going to have talent, so finding ways to separate yourself from the pack and playing hard for each other will help teams win some games they shouldn't and win the games they should. I was a part of a group of guys that put the team first (at SMSU) and that's the only way I know how to do things."
 
One key in working to implement a "be different" attitude with a young team has been the leadership of the team's veterans. Fletcher mentioned the buy-in from veteran returners in Caden Hoffman, Matt Johns and George Scharlau as well as veteran transfers Roy Grigsby and Jack Stensgard. He said, "It's a fun group of guys. They have melded together really well, they play hard and they are willing to learn. We're still taking strides forward every day, but they are a group of guys that are fun to be around which, at the end of the day, it makes it all worth it."
 
MEET THE GOLDEN BEARS
Concordia enters the 2021-22 season with an extremely young roster featuring 13 freshmen, three sophomores, a junior and a senior. Nine of the squad's 18 players are in their first year on campus, seven of which are true freshmen. The Golden Bears feature a good mix of returners and newcomers at nearly every position.
 
At the point guard spot, CSP will rely on a combination of Caden Hoffman, Jack Stensgard, DJ Akpati and Sean Mathieu. On the group, Fletcher said, "Caden and Jack are setting the tone for the group while DJ and Sean are getting better every day. I think our future at the point guard position is very, very bright."
 
Hoffman, a transfer from the University of South Dakota, was a key contributor and steady presence in his first season on campus last year. Starting all 14 games, the Scottsdale, Arizona native led the team with 2.9 assists per game and 30.4 minutes per game while ranking fifth with 9.1 points per game.
 
Stensgard is perhaps the most experienced player on the roster after having spent time at South Dakota and, more recently, UW-River Falls. An All-WIAC honorable mention pick in 2019-20, Stensgard averaged in double figures in each of his last two years with the Falcons.
 
Akpati and Mathieu give the Golden Bears a pair of true freshmen at the position as Akpati joins following a strong career at Totino-Grace High School while Mathieu was a solid prep performer at RWG STEM Academy in New Orleans, La.
 
CSP has an even deeper stable of players at the shooting guard slot with Jax Madson, Jacob Everson and Sunday John comprising the group of returning players and Reid Patterson and Ian Sluice joining as true freshmen. "We have a slew of guys that all bring different skillsets to the position," said of the group.
 
Madson is the team's leading scorer among returners after tallying 10.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 29.1 minutes of action as a true freshman. The Mankato native scored in double figures in over half the games last season, including the first four of the year.
 
Everson got his first taste of collegiate action as a redshirt freshman last year, appearing in 13 games off the bench. He averaged 9.1 minutes a night, scoring in all but three games he appeared in on the season.
 
John joined the Golden Bears at the semester break last year and made nine appearances off the bench. He collected 2.8 points and 1.6 rebounds while shooting 42.9% from the floor.
 
At the small forward spot, the returning combo of Marcus Skeete and George Scharlau are expecting to carry much of the load. Fletcher said of the duo, "They are both good athletes and physical kids that play as hard as they possibly can. They're reliable and fun to work with."
 
Skeete was tabbed as Concordia's player to watch in the NSIC Preseason release after coming on strong in the second half of his freshman campaign. The Aurora, Ill. native started the final nine games of the season, scoring in double figures five times and collecting three double-doubles in a row. He finished the year with 9.9 points and a team-best 5.7 boards per game.
 
Scharlau joins Everson and Keenan Jones as the longest tenured Golden Bear, entering his third season on campus. The Colfax High School grad also saved his best for last last season as he finished the year with three straight double-digit scoring performances to bring his season total to 6.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per night.
 
At the power forward position, CSP will rely on returners Matt Johns, Keenan Jones and Walker Johnson with freshman Jack Iverson also in the mix.
 
Johns, who Fletcher described as a "point guard stuck in a 6-8 athletic man's body", enters the year as the elder statesmen at the position. After joining from the University of South Dakota prior to last season, the Geelong, Australia native appeared and started in 12 games, contributing 8.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists to go along with a team-best 19 blocks on the year.
 
Keenan Jones appeared in every game off the bench as a redshirt freshman last year, putting up 3.6 points in 11.9 minutes per game. Jones knocked down all three of his three-point attempts against Upper Iowa on Feb. 5 to score a career-best nine points.
 
Walker Johnson got his first taste of college basketball last season as he redshirted for the Golden Bears while Iverson wrapped up an impressive high school career at Big Lake High School.
 
Down low at the five spot, transfer Roy Grigsby is joined by a pair of freshmen in Elijah Ormiston and Jonah Zeller.
 
Grigsby, a sharp-shooting transfer from Northern Colorado, spent the last three years as a role player for UNC. He made a living from behind the arc with all eight of his made field goals coming from three-point range.
 
Ormiston was a key member of a state title-winning team at Cannon High School in South Carolina last season while Zeller was tabbed as a McDonald's All American nominee while starring at Catlin Gable High School.