MANKATO, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (1-13, 0-8 NSIC) went back and forth with Minnesota State (10-4, 4-4 NSIC) all afternoon in a 92-82 road loss on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Golden Bears led by as many as nine in a game that featured five ties and 12 lead changes, but they were unable to turn it into a big road win to start 2022 as the Mavericks made it 16 straight wins in the all-time series to move to 32-6 against CSP.
 
CSP took advantage of extra opportunities on the offensive end as they outpaced MSU 14-9 in second chance points on the day. Both teams were efficient from the floor as Concordia shot 49.2% (32-65) overall and 42.9% (12-28) from deep while hitting all six of their free throw attempts. On the other side, Minnesota State hit 53.2% (33-62) from the floor, including 60.0% (12-20) from beyond the arc in the game.
 
Freshman Elijah Ormiston picked up where he left off in 2021 with his third game with 20+ points in the past six games, leading the way with 27 points and nine rebounds in 12-19 from the floor. He was one of four CSP starters to reach double figures in the contest.
 
Senior Jack Stensgard put up an efficient line of his own with 16 points on 6-10 shooting and 4-7 from three-point range to go along with three assists. Jacob Everson and Reid Patterson each added 10 points as Everson hit 4-7 with three assists while Patterson connected on 4-8 from the floor. George Scharlau fell a point shy of double figures as he hit 3-4 from deep to finish with nine points.
 
Quincy Anderson led all scorers with 30 points on 10-19 shooting and 5-7 from beyond the arc in the win for the Mavericks.
 
The two teams traded baskets early with seven lead changes in the first three and a half minutes before a 9-2 run capped by three three-pointers gave the Golden Bears a 16-11 lead. That lead eventually grew to as many as nine points at 28-19 with 10:47 left in the half following another 9-0 burst. The Mavericks turned the tide from there, however, as they outscored the Golden Bears 24-11 over the next 10 minutes to take the lead before a late Scharlau three trimmed it to 43-42 at the break.
 
After the MSU lead grew to five in the early stages of the second half, Concordia rattled off a 7-2 run highlighted by an Ormiston old-fashioned three-point play to regain the lead at 54-53. An Ian Sluice three-pointer on the next possession extended the lead to two at 57-55 with 12:48 left, but that proved to be the final lead for CSP. A 7-0 run for MSU gave them the lead for good as they slowly grew their edge from there. The lead eventually reached 15 down the stretch before a pair of late threes for the Golden Bears trimmed it to 92-82 at the final score.
 
Concordia remains on the road next weekend as they take on St. Cloud State on Friday and Minnesota Duluth on Saturday.