DENVER, Colo. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (1-6) dropped a heartbreaker on the road as a last second bucket gave MSU Denver (5-0) a 71-68 win on Saturday night.
 
The Golden Bears put together an impressive performance in a tough road environment as they led by as many as 10 points on the night and held a one point advantage with 1:27 to play, but Ra'Shawn Langston provided the game-winner with a floater in the lane to seal the victory for the hosts.
 
CSP delivered their best shooting performance of the season as they knocked down 47.1% (24-51) from the floor, 45.5% (10-22) from beyond the arc and 90.9% (10-11) as they edged MSUD in all three. The Roadrunners, on the other side, finished at 43.8% (28-64), 42.9% (6-14) and 75.0% (9-12), respectively.
 
Concordia added a 33-29 rebounding advantage, including a 25-18 on the defensive glass, as well as a 17-4 advantage in bench scoring and a 15-11 advantage on points off turnovers on the night.
 
Jacob Everson had his best game in navy and gold as he hit 5-6 from the floor and 4-5 from three-point range for a career-best 16 points. He added four rebounds in 33 minutes of action. Marcus Skeete followed close behind with 14 points as he fell a rebound short of a double-double with nine. Elijah Ormiston gave the Golden Bears three players in double figures with 11 points and four boards in the loss.
 
Langston was the go-to guy all night long for MSU Denver as he scored a game-high 33 points on 14-23 shooting in the win.
 
The Roadrunners came out firing as they scored the first seven points of the game and eight of the first 10 to put the Golden Bears in an early hole. That lead remained five at 17-12 with 12:37 left in the half, but Concordia turned the tide from there with a 10-2 run to take their first lead of the night at 22-19 just past the midway point of the half. MSUD evened it back up at 25-25 and again at 27-27 before a 12-2 CSP run capped by six points apiece for Everson and Skeete gave them a double digit edge at 39-29 in the final minute of the half. A late MSU Denver three cut it back to 39-32 heading to the locker room.
 
The Golden Bears held strong for the first 10 minutes of the second half as they maintained a lead between one and six points throughout that stretch. With the lead at six at 56-50 with 9:44 left on the clock following five straight points from Ormiston, the Roadrunners embarked on an 8-0 run over the next minute and a half to regain the lead at 58-56. That proved to be the first of three lead changes over a four minute span as CSP jumped back out front at 60-58 on a Patterson layup before Langston put MSUD in the lead at 64-63 at the 4:11 mark. That lead grew to four at 67-63 before a 5-0 run, capped by two Skeete free throws with 1:27 left, to give Concordia a 68-67 lead. Miles Gibson hit 1-2 from the line at the 1:10 mark to tie it up at 68-68.
 
After a CSP turnover gave MSUD the ball back, Concordia forced a tough shot for the Roadrunners, but an offensive board gave the Roadrunners new life. Langston delivered the decisive blow with 1.7 seconds to give MSU Denver the lead for good. Laolu Oke added a made free throw at 1.3 seconds to bring it to the final score of 71-68.
 
Concordia resumes NSIC action next week as they host Winona State next Thursday and travel to Upper Iowa on Saturday.