ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (1-10, 0-5 NSIC) is back home this weekend as they host Southwest Minnesota State (6-4, 2-3 NSIC) on Friday and Sioux Falls (6-5, 2-3 NSIC) on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. both days.
 
CSP CAMPUS MASKING POLICY
Visitors to Concordia-St. Paul should observe the general campus masking guidelines. All unvaccinated individuals are required to mask at all times while indoors on campus. For individuals who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, masks are strongly encouraged. Thank you for abiding by the policies as set forth by campus administration.
 
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.
 
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.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Over the weekend, Concordia fell 60-41 at Wayne State on Friday before seeing a second half surge fall short in a 75-58 loss at Augustana on Saturday.
 
On Friday, the Wildcats used a 25-0 run in the game's opening half to turn an 11-7 CSP lead into the decisive advantage.
 
Elijah Ormiston carried the load offensively for Concordia as he cleared 20+ points for the second game in a row and third time this season as he led all players with 24 points on 9-14 shooting and 5-5 from the free throw line. The freshman added four boards in his 26 minutes of action.
 
On Saturday, the Golden Bears nearly erased a double-digit first half deficit as they pulled within two midway through the second, but the Vikings turned the tide in their favor down the stretch.
 
The Concordia trio of Marcus Skeete, Elijah Ormiston and Reid Patterson combined for 42 of the team's 58 points as all three reached double figures on the night. Skeete filled the box score with 17 points, six boards, five assists and two steals while connecting on 6-13 shooting. Ormiston finished a rebound shy of his first career double-double as he tallied 13 points and nine rebounds in the game. Patterson set a new career high with 12 points to go along with two rebounds and two assists while hitting 5-10 from the floor and 2-6 from three-point range.
 
SMSU SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears enter the weekend's contests with a record of 13-30 against Southwest Minnesota State. After winning just seven of the first 31 meetings in the all-time series, CSP has improved over recent years with six wins in the past 12 dating back to 2015, including wins in each of the past three contests. In 21 previous meetings in St. Paul, Concordia has gone 9-12. Last season's weekend series between the two schools was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
 
LAST MEETING VS SMSU
Back on Jan. 10, 2020, Concordia won their third straight overall and third in a row against the Mustangs with a 79-70 win at R/A Facility.
 
Concordia used an 11-0 run late in the first half to claim a lead it wouldn't relinquish, and then a 10-0 run just past the midway point of the second half after SMSU had cut a 14-point lead to just two.
 
The Golden Bears got the job done from inside and from beyond the arc, outscoring the Mustangs 40-22 in the paint and hitting 53.3% (8-15) from the arc while holding SMSU to 39.1% (9-23) from deep on its home court.
 
Overall, CSP shot 59.6% (31-52) from the field compared to SMSU's 44.3% (27-61). Concordia held the Mustangs to 38.9% (14-36) second half shooting, as well.
 
Concordia shot a blistering 70.8% (17-24) from the floor in the first half including 85.7% (6-7) first half three-point shooting. Half of those three-pointers sparked the 11-0 run which sent CSP into the locker room on a 13-2 spurt for a 42-33 lead at the break.
 
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
Southwest Minnesota State enters the weekend with a 6-4 record, including a 2-3 mark in NSIC play. After dropping their season opener to Rogers State in St. Paul, the Mustangs grabbed five straight wins to move to 5-1 on the season. Since then, SMSU has dropped three of four over the last two weekends.
 
SMSU split a pair of home games last weekend inside the R/A Facility, rallying past Winona State on Friday earning a 50-49 victory, before suffering a tight 82-80 loss to Upper Iowa on Saturday. In the win over WSU, the Mustangs rallied from a 13-point first half deficit, limiting Winona State to 10 second half points on just five field goals, to earn the victory. Cliff McCray gave the Mustangs its first lead since the first half with a layup with 48 seconds to put SMSU in front at 50-49. The last time an SMSU opponent was held to five or less field goals in a half came on Dec. 11, 2009, when Northern State had just three field goals in the second half.
 
Senior Kenny Byers and sophomore Jake Phipps lead the team in scoring (13.4), while Phipps leads the team in rebounding (7.1), ranks second in field goal pct. (55.6) and is third in 3-pointers (11). Redshirt freshman Dunwa Omot has connected on a team-high 18 3-pointers. Byers has 36 assists, while sophomore Cliff McCray has also recorded a team-high 36 assists and has a team-leading 17 steals. SMSU has held eight of its 10 opponents to 69 or less points.
 
USF SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears and Cougars are meeting for the 26th time in the all-time series this weekend as CSP enters with a 6-19 record against USF. Concordia's best stretch in the series came back in 2015-16 as they won three of four during that span, but the Cougars have won all eight meetings since then. The Golden Bears have gone 4-8 in 12 contests in St. Paul. Last season's two-game series between the two schools was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
 
LAST MEETING VS USF
Back on Jan. 11, 2020, Concordia took its first loss of the calendar year, falling 74-59 to NSIC-leading Sioux Falls.
 
The Golden Bears went into halftime tied at 24 with the Cougars, holding USF to just 31.0% (9-29) shooting.
 
In the second half, when it appeared the Cougars were picking up momentum, Concordia junior guard Lee Higgins converted a four point play after connecting on a corner three-pointer to tie the game at 32 with 15:31 to play. Higgins matched Cody Carlson with 13 points and two blocked shots, coming on 4-of-7 shooting including 2-of-4 from three-point range.
 
USF's shooting recovered in the second half as the Cougars stopped settling on the perimeter. After going 1-of-9 from the arc in the first half against CSP's road defense, Sioux Falls attempted just two second half three-pointers and converted 64.3% (18-28) from the field after the break to finish the night at 47.4% (27-57).
 
CSP held USF to just 18.2% (2-11) three-point shooting overall, but the Cougars used a 46-24 scoring advantage in the paint and had a 27-to-11 edge in free throw attempts which led to a +10 scoring margin at the line.
 
ABOUT THE COUGARS
Sioux Falls heads into the final weekend of action in 2021 with a record of 6-5 overall and 2-3 in conference action. After claiming three wins in their first five contests, the Cougars have collected weekend splits in each of the past three weekends, following a loss with a win in all three. Last weekend, USF fell to UIU 86-79 before knocking off WSU 71-57 in Sioux Falls.
 
On the season, the Cougars have done a great job of taking care of the basketball as they rank third in the NSIC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.43 and fourth in turnover margin at +2.0. Their 9.4 turnovers per game are the fewest in the league. USF also ranks eighth in the conference in assists per game at 13.36 while their 12.0 offensive rebounds per game lead the conference.
 
The Cougars are paced by high-scoring guard Matt Cartwright, who leads the NSIC with 22.4 points per game. The Sioux Falls native also leads the league in threes made per game at 3.3 while hits 41.4% mark from beyond the arc ranks fourth and his 79.1% free throw percentage ranks ninth. Wesley Oba ranks fifth in blocks per game (1.2) and sixth in rebounds (8.3) while Jack Thompson ranks second in assists per game (5.1) and third in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.1).
 
LEAGUE LEADERS
So far this season, the Golden Bears have had three different players that rank near the top of the league in different statistical categories.
 
Marcus Skeete has been a versatile player for CSP as he ranks 23rd in the NSIC in scoring (13.5), 12th in field goal percentage (50.9%), 19th in rebounds per game (6.2), 17th in assist per game (3.2) and 17th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1). Elijah Ormiston sits in 17th in field goal percentage at 49.6% and 21st in rebounds per game at 6.1 while Matt Johns' 1.1 blocks per game rank seventh.
 
As a team, the Golden Bears have defended the arc well as their 57 made threes allowed is the fewest in the conference while their 33.1% opponent three-point percentage ranks fifth. CSP also ranks sixth in blocks per game at 3.27 and sixth in assists per game at 14.27.