MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (1-3) pushed unbeaten Northern Michigan (4-0) to the limit in a 90-86 overtime loss in non-conference play on Friday night.
 
The Golden Bears erased an eight-point second half deficit before leading by as many as four in the final two minutes, but they were unable to close it out in regulation as a last second jumper rimmed out to force an extra session. In overtime, Antwan Kimmons scored all 12 points for CSP as Concordia led as late as 84-83 with 34 seconds to go, but the Wildcats scored seven points in the final 24 seconds to seal the win.
 
Kimmons finished with a game-high and career-high 35 points on an efficient 14-25 shooting and 6-8 from the free throw line to go along with four steals, three assists and two boards. His 35 point outburst was the most by a CSP player since Isaiah McKay scored 26 against Arkansas Tech on Nov. 11, 2018.
 
Jacob Everson and John Grigsby joined Kimmons in double figures in scoring as Everson narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds while Grigsby scored 11 in 13 minutes off the bench. Everson connected on 4-8 from the floor and 3-5 from deep while Grigsby hit 4-6 from the floor and 2-3 from beyond the arc. Marcus Skeete flirted with a double-double of his own with nine points and nine boards while Sean Mathieu filled the stat sheet with seven points, six assists and three rebounds off the bench.
 
Max Bjorklund paced Northern Michigan with 34 points and five rebounds while Brian Parzych added 19 points in the win.
 
The Golden Bears benefitted from a 25-15 edge in bench scoring as they outscored NMU 15-0 off the bench after halftime on the night. CSP added a 12-8 advantage on fast break points while Northern Michigan utilized a 10-0 edge in second chance points and an 11-5 edge in points off turnovers.
 
The two teams spent much of the first half jostling for the lead with eight lead changes and five ties in the first 16 minutes of the contest. After falling behind 20-16 just past the midway point of the half, Concordia rattled off an 8-1 run to take a 24-21 lead at the 7:23 mark. With the lead at 26-23 just 30 seconds later, Northern Michigan took control with an extended 14-4 run to jump out to a 37-30 advantage with 1:56 to go before the break. Everson knocked down one of his three three-pointers before a late NMU bucket made it 39-33 at the half.
 
The Wildcats built their largest lead of the night at eight in the opening moments of the second half, but CSP once again showed their resilience as they strung together a 9-1 run to tie it up at 44-44 with 17:29 to go. The Northern Michigan lead was back at five at 55-50 midway through the half before back-to-back threes for Caden Hoffman and Grigsby put the Golden Bears back in front. NMU maintained a slim advantage over the next several minutes, including a four-point advantage at 68-64 with 4:05 to play, before Concordia took their largest lead following an 8-0 run to make it 72-68 with just 1:41 left on the clock. Northern Michigan clawed their way back to tie it up at 72-72 and again at 74-74 with 23 seconds left before a last second shot rimmed out for Kimmons to send it to overtime.
 
Kimmons gave the Golden Bears a pair of early leads in overtime before an and-one conversion with 34 seconds on the clock put CSP in front one last time at 84-83. The Wildcats took it from there with a go-ahead go-ahead and-one of their own followed by a perfect 4-4 from the line down the stretch sealed the 90-86 win.
 
The Golden Bears open up NSIC play on Tuesday night as they travel to Minnesota State. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.