ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (3-21, 2-15 NSIC) is back at Gangelhoff Center this weekend as they host #11 Augustana (19-2, 13-2 NSIC) on Friday and Wayne State (12-9, 9-6 NSIC) on Saturday.
 
GAME PROMOTIONS
Friday night at Gangelhoff Center is Drury Plaza Hotel St. Paul Downtown Night. Drury Plaza Hotel staff will provide promotional giveaways to fans in attendance.
 
In addition, Concordia's 24 NSIC Myles Brand Academic with Distinction Award winners will be honored on the court at halftime of the men's game against the Vikings.
 
On Saturday, it is Salute to Service Night. All active military and veterans receive complimentary entry to both games.
 
At halftime of Saturday's men's game against the Wildcats, there will be a drawing for a 39" Smart TV. All CSP students are eligible to win.
 
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
On Saturday night, the Golden Bears picked up a dramatic last second victory as Marcus Skeete buried a jumper with 2.0 seconds to play to give the Golden Bears a 61-60 win at Southwest Minnesota State.
 
Trailing 60-57 with 1:20 left on the clock, Everson trimmed the deficit to a point with a layup with 52 seconds to play. CSP got a much needed stop as they forced a shot clock violation to give themselves a chance to win it in regulation. Skeete did just that as he drained a contested turnaround fadeaway jumper from the free throw line with 2.0 seconds to go to win for the Golden Bears.
 
Concordia cleared 50.0% shooting for the third time this season as they finished the night at 51.1% (24-47) from the floor and 39.1% (9-23) from three-point range. The Mustangs were even more efficient from the floor at 53.1% (26-49), but they didn't match CSP's success from beyond the arc as they hit just 23.5% (4-17) of their attempts. The Golden Bears added an 11-7 edge in bench scoring in the win.
 
The big three of Skeete, Jacob Everson and Elijah Ormiston combined for 45 of the team's 61 points in the win as Skeete led all scorers with 18 points on 8-14 shooting. Skeete added four assists and two rebounds in the win. Everson was nearly perfect from the floor as he connected on 6-8 shooting and 3-4 from deep to finish with 15 points. Ormiston chipped in 12 points, seven boards, two assists and two steals on the night.
 
AUGIE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears and Vikings will be meeting for the 33rd time in the all-time series as Augustana holds a 27-5 edge in the previous 32 meetings. Augie has been especially dominant in the recent history of the series as they have won 20 in a row over CSP dating back to Jan. 3, 2012. Concordia's has compiled a 4-11 record on their home court while picking up just one win in 16 trips to Augustana. In 23 meetings in conference play, Augie holds a record of 23-2.
 
LAST MEETING VS AUGIE
In the first meeting of the season on Dec. 11, Concordia fell to Augustana by a score of 75-58 at Sanford Pentagon.
 
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.
 
CSP's defense made things tough for a solid Augustana squad as they held the Vikings to just 28.6% (4-14) from three-point range and 43.5% (30-69) from the floor on the night. The Golden Bears outscored the Vikings 21-12 from beyond the arc as they finished 7-21 (33.3%) from deep and 22-53 (41.5%) overall in the contest.
 
The Vikings took advantage of a 14-3 edge on the offensive glass as they outscored Concordia 12-2 in second chance points. Augie added a 42-26 advantage in points in the paint and a 19-10 advantage in points off turnovers to aid their effort.
 
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.
 
ABOUT THE VIKINGS
Augustana enters the weekend as the hottest team in the NSIC as they have rattled off nine straight wins to move into first place in the NSIC South with a 13-2 mark in league play and a 19-2 mark overall. Augie opened the year with four straight victories before fall to Wayne State in the conference opener. They followed it up with six more wins before dropping their final contest of 2021 at Upper Iowa. Since then, seven of their nine wins have come by at least nine points.
 
A major key to their success has been their stifling defense as their 64.5 points allowed per game are 3.7 less than any other NSIC squad while 42.6% opponent field goal percentage also ranks second. They've been especially effective limiting their opponents from beyond the arc as opposing teams are shooting just 31.2% from three-point range, lowest in the league. The Vikings rank at the top in several other categories as their +7.1 rebounding margin ranks first as well as their 1.51 assist-to-turnover ratio and 16.95 assists per game.
 
Tyler Riemersma is averaging a double-double as his 18.4 points per game rank sixth in the NSIC and their 10.8 rebounds per game rank first. He also ranks third in steals at 1.7 and fourth in field goal percentage at 59.0%. Isaac Fink registers in at 18^th with 15.3 points per game while Jameson Bryan ranks third in assists per game at 4.5 and first with a 4.3 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
WSC SERIES HISTORY
Heading into the weekend, WSC holds a slight edge in the all-time series as they have claimed 27 wins while CSP has picked up 19 in the 46 previous meetings. Since a stretch from 2006-2011 that saw Concordia win nine of 10 meetings, the Wildcats have turned the momentum in their favor with 17 wins in the last 22 and 10 of 11. Concordia has found much more success on their home court as they have gone 12-12 in St. Paul and 7-15 in Wayne in the series.
 
LAST MEETING VS WSC
Back on Dec. 10, CSP saw Wayne State pull away with a big first half run in a 60-41 loss on the road at Rice Auditorium.
 
The Wildcats used a 25-0 run in the game's opening half to turn an 11-7 CSP lead into a comfortable lead of their own.
 
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.
 
No other Golden Bears reached double figures as Reid Patterson and Sunday John each chipped in four points while George Scharlau and Ian Sluice each had three. Marcus Skeete paced the squad with six rebounds and four assists in the loss.
 
Offense proved to be hard to Concordia was held to a season-low 28.3% (15-53) from the floor and 14.3% (3-21) from deep while WSC connected on 42.6% (26-61) and 25.0% (3-12), respectively. The Golden Bears did, however, finish with a 12-10 edge in bench scoring as well as an 8-5 edge in assists on the night. Wayne State tallied a 43-28 advantage on the glass and a 32-20 advantage in points in the paint in the win.
 
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
Wayne State finds themselves in the heat of the chase for a spot in the NSIC Tournament as they head into the weekend in third place with a 9-6 record in conference play, a half-game ahead of Winona State in fourth and a game and a half ahead of Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota State in fifth and sixth. With 10 wins in their first 16 games, WSC has dropped three of their last five, including a split at home last weekend against UIU and WSU.
 
One of the slower paced teams in the conference, the Wildcats rank 13^th in scoring at 71.4 points per game while their 68.2 points allowed rank second. Forcing turnovers has been a major strength for Wayne State as they lead the league with a +2.71 turnover margin and 7.48 steals per game. Their 4.05 blocks per game also rank second.
 
Wayne State has two of the top-15 scorers in the NSIC with Justin Eagins ranking 14^th with 16.1 points per game and Jordan Janssen ranking 15^th with 15.8. Janssen also ranks eighth with 7.3 rebounds per game while Cody McCullough follows close behind with 7.0 boards per game, good for 10^th. Ben Dentlinger adds the second most blocks per game in the league at 1.8 per night.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS
So far this season, the Golden Bears have had four different players that rank near the top of the league in different statistical categories.
 
Elijah Ormiston's scoring surge in NSIC play has moved him to 11th in the league in points per game at 17.0 while he also sits in seventh in field goal percentage at 54.6%, 11th in rebounds per game at 6.9 and 17th in free throw percentage at 66.0%. He's been even better in league play as his 18.7 points per game in conference action rank third and his 7.1 boards per game rank ninth.
 
Marcus Skeete has been a versatile player for CSP as he ranks 10th in field goal percentage (49.0%), 11th in assists per game (3.4), 20th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2) and 20th in rebounds per game (6.0). Jack Stensgard ranks 17th in assists per game (3.2), 17th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3) and 24th in blocks per game (0.6) while Caden Hoffman ranks 22nd with 2.7 assists per game.
 
As a team, the Golden Bears have defended the arc well as their 6.2 made threes allowed per game are the second fewest in the conference while their 195 made threes per game rank fourth and their 8.1 made threes per game rank fifth. CSP also ranks fourth in assists per game at 14.46 and 11th in blocks per game at 2.46.