BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Concordia Golden Bears men's basketball team (1-2) ran into a hot shooting Bemidji State (1-0) on Tuesday night as they fell 82-67 on the road in non-conference action.
 
The Beavers controlled play down low as they used a 56-32 advantage in points in the paint, a 44-27 advantage on the glass and a 19-7 advantage in second chance points in the win. They connected on 54.0% (34-63) from the floor, including a solid 57.1% (16-28) after the break as they kept the Golden Bears at bay throughout the night. The Golden Bears dropped to 16-19 in the all-time series as BSU improved to 12-6 on their home court.
 
The Golden Bears did win the battle in points off turnovers at 19-15 while also outscoring the Beavers off the bench at 20-19, but it wasn't enough to put the team on top.
 
Marcus Skeete provided an efficient stat line for CSP as he hit 6-9 from the floor to finish with a team-best 14 points in 25 minutes of action. Skeete added five rebounds with a pair of steals and a pair of assists. Elijah Ormiston flirted with a double-double on the night as he contributed 11 points, eight boards, three assists, two steals and a block.
 
Ian Sluice hit all three of his shots, including a pair of threes, to finish with eight points in eight minutes while Jack Stensgard collected seven points, five rebounds and five assists on 3-5 shooting.
 
Bemidji State had four players reach double figures in scoring in the win as John Sutherland led all scorers with 18 points while Mohamed Kone and Travis Bianco had 17 apiece. Bianco added 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals for a double-double.
 
Concordia jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead to start the game, but Bemidji State turned the tide with eight straight points and 22 of the next 28 to build a 22-11 edge at the 11:47 mark. CSP nearly cut the lead in half with a Reid Patterson three and a Skeete jumper, but answered right back with a 7-0 run to push it to 13 at 29-16 with 9:04 to go in the half. The lead remained between eight and 11 until a late and-one conversion gave the Beavers a 43-29 lead heading to the locker room.
 
The Golden Bears shifted the momentum in their favor early in the second half as they opened on an extended 14-4 run to pull within four at 47-43 just over five minutes into the half. BSU regained a comfortable edge, however, with an 8-0 run to extend it back to a dozen at 55-43. The lead would not shrink below nine the rest of the way, growing to as many as 18 in the game's final minute, before a Sluice three brought it to the final score of 82-67.
 
Concordia returns home on Friday as they play host to Minnesota Duluth in non-conference play. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.