ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (2-19, 1-13 NSIC) put together a furious comeback to force overtime in a 76-72 loss to Northern State (14-9, 8-7 NSIC) on Friday night at Gangelhoff Center.
The Golden Bear defense locked down the Wolves late in the second half, holding NSU to just two points over the final 6:29 to erase a double-digit deficit and force an extra session. CSP was unable to carry the momentum into overtime as Northern State held on to improve to 33-7 in 40 all-time meetings between the two schools.
Concordia limited Northern State to just 33.3% (10-30) from the floor in the second half and 42.9% (30-70) for the game while connecting on 43.1% (28-65) on the offensive end on the night. CSP also claimed an advantage from beyond the arc as they hit 44.0% (11-25) compared to 25.0% (7-28) for the Wolves.
CSP added an 11-4 edge in bench scoring as well as a 41-40 edge on the glass while Northern State utilized a 14-7 advantage in second chance points to go along with a 42-28 advantage in points in the paint in the win.
The trio of
Marcus Skeete,
Elijah Ormiston and
Jack Stensgard did the heavy lifting on the offensive end, combining for 52 of the team's 72 points in the contest. Skeete led the way with 22 points on 9-18 shooting while Ormiston added 18 points, five rebounds and four steals. Stensgard tallied his first career double-double with 12 points and a game-high 13 boards while he also hit 5-8 from the floor, dished out four assists and grabbed two blocks and two steals.
Jacob Everson chipped in six points and nine rebounds.
Jordan Belka paced the Wolves with a game-best 28 points on 13-21 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass, and three steals.
The Golden Bears got off to a fast start as they strung together a quick 8-0 run to build a 12-4 lead four and a half minutes in. The momentum shifted the other way from there, however, as NSU used an extended 21-5 burst to build a 25-17 advantage with 5:44 to go in the half. That lead eventually grew to as many as 13 before the break before a
George Scharlau bucket trimmed it to 38-27 at the break.
For much of the second half, the two teams traded baskets as the lead fluctuated between eight and 13 points for the first 13-plus minutes until Concordia made their move. Trailing by 10 at 58-48 with 6:29 to play, CSP's defense turned up the heat. The Golden Bears rattled off an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to trim it to two at 3:17 before a Sam Masten layup pushed it back to four at 60-56 with 2:45 to go. That would be all the scoring for NSU in regulation as Skeete knocked down a free throw before
Jax Madson buried a corner three to tie the game with 1:02 left on the clock. After a Jacksen Moni missed jumper with 31 seconds to go, Stensgard pulled down the board to give the Golden Bears the final shot. Skeete got himself a good look on a drive to the middle of the lane with just over a second left, but saw it rim out as the game moved to overtime.
Northern flipped the script in the extra period as they held Concordia to just one made field goal, an Everson three, in the first four and a half minutes to build a 71-63 lead.
George Scharlau, Skeete and Stensgard all knocked down threes down the stretch to pull within a pair at 74-72, but a late NSU bucket iced the 76-72 win.
The Golden Bears are back in action tomorrow night as they host MSU Moorhead on Alumni Night. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
