ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (1-1) is set to face a pair of familiar foes in non-conference action this week as they travel to Bemidji State on Tuesday and host Minnesota Duluth on Friday. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday and 7 p.m. on Friday.
 
WATCH ONLINE – NSIC NETWORK
All Golden Bear NSIC men's and women's basketball games will be available to watch online, free of charge, powered by the NSIC Network, supported by BlueFrame Technology. Visit nsicnetwork.com/cspbears on a laptop or desktop computer, download the NSIC Network app on your mobile device or watch on your supported OTT provider such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Search "NSIC Network" and download the app for the league's full sport and team lineups. NSIC NETWORK FAQ
 
DOWNLOAD THE APP
Fans can download the CSP Bears fan app, free of charge and available in the App Store or on Google Play. The app contains rosters, schedules, scores, stats, news, social media and more! Customize your options to get notifications to your favorite teams, as well. Search "CSP Bears" in the app store to stay up-to-date on Golden Bear athletics.
 
BUY TICKETS TO HOME GAMES ONLINE
New this year to Golden Bears is online ticketing. Buy tickets in advance and bring your QR code to the gates to skip the line! Friends and families who utilize the pass list will also be utilizing the online ticketing service while all students, faculty & staff will access their free CSP tickets through the service. Fans do not need to create a login, remember a username or password or download an app to purchase tickets, and tickets can still be purchased with cash at the gates. Find out more in the partnership announcement between CSP Athletics and HomeTown Ticketing.
 
LAST TIME OUT
In the season's opening weekend in the DoubleTree by Hilton Roseville Minneapolis Classic, the Golden Bears claimed a 73-70 victory over Newman on Friday before falling to Rogers State 66-63 on Saturday.
 
On Friday, CSP opened the 2021-22 season with a 73-70 win over Newman.
 
Concordia led in nearly every statistical category as they held a 15-4 edge in fast break points, a 44-32 edge in points in the paint, a 20-11 edge in points off turnovers, a 30-24 edge in bench scoring and a 14-10 edge in second chance points while also claiming a 39-37 edge on the glass. The Golden Bears also connected on 51.9% (14-27) after the break to finish at 43.9% (25-57) while the Jets shot 43.3% (26-60) in the loss.
 
Elijah Ormiston caught put together a dominant second half in his collegiate debut as he scored 20 of his game-high 22 points after the break. The freshman connected on 8-12 from the floor and pulled down seven boards in just 18 minutes of action in the win.
 
Marcus Skeete joined him in double figures off the bench as he tallied 11 points on 5-8 shooting to go along with six boards. Matt Johns chipped in nine points, three blocks and two rebounds while drawing eight fouls and Sunday John knocked down 3-5 from the floor to finish with eight points and three assists.
 
In Saturday's contest, there was very little that separated the two teams on the day as there were 11 ties and 11 lead changes throughout the contest while neither team led by more than eight. Concordia led for 21:55 in the game, including virtually the entire first half, but it was Devin Pullum that gave the Hillcats the lead for good with a go-ahead bucket with 44 seconds to play. Jack Stensgard and Matt Johns each had a look with a chance to tie it up in the final 11 seconds, but RSU managed to cling to their lead to finish the weekend with a pair of wins.
 
Concordia's bench provided the squad with a major spark in the contest as CSP's reserves combined for 33 of the team's 63 points, compared to just nine bench points for the Hillcats. Roy Grigsby, Marcus Skeete and Reid Patterson paced the group as Grigsby scored 11 points, Skeete had 10 and Patterson had eight. Grigsby and Patterson each connected on 4-7 from the floor as Grigsby connected on 3-5 from deep and Skeete chipped in six boards.
 
BSU SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears enter Tuesday night with a nearly even record against the Beavers as CSP has gone 16-18 in the previous 34 meetings. Concordia has turned the momentum heavily in their favor since 2005 as they have won 15 of the last 23 meetings since then. CSP had a four-game winning streak in the series snapped in 2017-18 as BSU has won the last four meetings. Both teams have found success on their home court as Concordia has gone 11-6 in St. Paul while the Beavers have gone 12-5 in Bemidji.
 
LAST MEETING VS BSU
Back on Feb. 7, 2020, Concordia put together a strong push in the second half, but they were unable to turn it into a victory as they fell to Bemidji State by a score of 84-76 at Gangelhoff Center.
 
CSP found themselves in a deep hole in the first half and early in the second before a late surge pulled them within a couple of possessions, but it proved to be too little too late as the Beavers held on for the win.
 
Offensively, the Golden Bears connected on 45.5% (25-55) from the floor for the game as they hit at least 44.4% in each half. The Beavers were even better, however, as they hit 50.9% (28-55) overall and 45.5% (10-22) from deep to come out on top. BSU also held a 21-6 edge in bench scoring as well as a 36-28 edge in points in the paint on the night.
 
Lee Higgins and Jordan Coblin helped get the Golden Bears back in the game in the second half as Higgins scored 13 of his 20 points and Coblin scored 11 of his 17. Higgins was an efficient 6-11 shooting, 4-7 from deep and 4-4 from the free throw line to go along with five boards, three assists and two steals in a team-leading 37 minutes. Coblin hit 6-14 from the floor and 5-8 from the line on the night while tying for the team lead with a +4 plus/minus.
 
UMD SERIES HISTORY
Heading into Friday's matchup, the Golden Bears hold a record of 13-17 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 20 and nine of the last 14 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 6-10 in Duluth.
 
LAST MEETING VS UMD
In the opening round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament on Feb. 26, 2020, CSP, the seventh seed in the NSIC South, pushed Minnesota Duluth, the second seed in the NSIC North, to the brink in the opening round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament as the Bulldogs snuck away with a 92-87 win in double overtime.
 
Looking to spring an upset in the opening round of the tournament for the second time in four years, the Golden Bears put themselves in great positions to close it out as they had chances at the end of regulation and the first overtime, but the winning shot proved to be just out of reach as UMD outlasted CSP in a thrilling contest.
 
One game after setting a season high in made threes against Upper Iowa, the Golden Bears let it fly against UMD as they knocked down 16 of their 42 three-point attempts to finish with a massive 30-point advantage from beyond the arc as the Bulldogs hit just 6 of 23. Minnesota Duluth held the efficiency advantage from the floor and at the free throw line as they finished at 45.3% (29-64) overall and 87.5% (28-32) from the line compared to 41.9% (31-74) and 56.3% (9-16) for CSP, respectively.
 
Concordia also got much more production from their bench with a 28-10 edge in bench scoring while they also tallied a 16-12 edge in points off of turnovers. The Bulldogs, however, took advantage down low as they used a 46-26 advantage in points in the paint to aid their effort.
 
Golden Bear senior Max Keefe finished his career strong with 16 points on 6-12 shooting and 4-7 from deep as he also added a pair of assists and a pair of rebounds on the night. Keefe finishes his career at sixth all-time at CSP with an 81.3% career free throw percentage in addition to sitting in a tie for ninth with 61 career blocks.