ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (7-4, 2-3 NSIC) is set of their final two games of 2023 as they host #21 Minnesota Duluth (8-2, 3-1 NSIC) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before traveling to #3 Minnesota State (10-0, 4-0 NSIC) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
BUY TICKETS TO HOME GAMES ONLINE
Fans are encouraged to 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
Last weekend, the Golden Bears caught fire in an 88-68 win at SMSU on Friday before cooling off in an 85-59 loss at USF on Saturday.
 
On Friday, the Golden Bears made it two straight wins in NSIC play as they caught fire from deep in the victory. CSP, who entered the night first in the NSIC and 16th in the nation with 10.7 made threes per game, added to that total as they connected on 17 for the second time in two weeks, matching their second largest total overall and largest on the road in program history. The shooting from beyond the arc played a major role in the outcome of the contest as Concordia hit 16 more from deep than the Mustangs while out-shooting the hosts 43.6% (17-39) to 7.7% (1-13) from three-point range. In total, CSP hit 45.6% (31-68) from the floor compared to 43.5% (27-62) for SMSU.
 
On Saturday, the Golden Bears were limited to 59 points on 36.7% (22-60) from the floor. CSP found it especially tough sledding from beyond the arc as they hit just three of their 28 attempts (10.7%) one day after matching their season best with 17 made threes. The trio of Ben Kopetzki, Antwan Kimmons and Japannah Kellogg combined for 38 of the team's 59 points on the night as the starting unit scored all but nine points for the team in the contest. Kopetzki reached double figures for the fourth time this season with a team-high 14 points to go along with four rebounds and two assists while hitting 6-12 from the field.
 
UMD SERIES HISTORY
Heading into Thursday's matchup, the Golden Bears hold a record of 13-20 against the Bulldogs. After UMD won the first nine of the series, CSP rattled off 13 wins in the next 18 meetings from 2004-18. Since then, Minnesota Duluth has won the last six in a row. Concordia has been nearly even both at home and on the road in the series as they have gone 7-9 on their home court and 6-11 in Duluth.
 
LAST MEETING WITH THE BULLDOGS
Back on Jan. 6, CSP dropped a wild contest to Minnesota Duluth by a score of 80-78 at Gangelhoff Center.
 
It was back and forth throughout the entire night as both teams traded runs in an intense, physical matchup. After building an eight-point advantage early in the second half, the Golden Bears saw the Bulldogs swing it in their favor with a 72-62 lead with 4:04 play, but CSP would not go away as they stormed back to within a point before seeing their comeback bid fall short.
 
Antwan Kimmons filled the stat sheet with 24 points, nine assists and five boards while hitting 9-16 from the floor. It was the junior's ninth 20+ point performance and third in the past four games. Marcus Skeete added a double-double, his second of the season, with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the game.
 
Roy Grigsby caught fire from three-point range before the half as knocked down all four of his attempts in the first half before finishing with 14 points and three rebounds on the night.
 
MSU SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's meeting marks the 41st time the two schools have met on the court. In the previous 40 meetings, CSP has gone 6-34 against MSU. The series has been tipped in favor of the Mavericks as MSU has won 18 in a row dating back to CSP's last win back on Dec. 20, 2014. On their home court, the Golden Bears have compiled a 4-16 record against the Mavericks and a 2-17 record in Mankato.
 
LAST MEETING WITH THE MAVERICKS
On New Year's Eve last season, the Golden Bears were in comeback mode for much of the afternoon at Gangelhoff Center as they came up just short in a 79-74 loss to Minnesota State.
 
After the Mavericks ran out to a 27-6 lead six and a half minutes into the contest, the Golden Bears outscored MSU 70-52 over the final 33:39 as they nearly erased the 21-point deficit.
 
Concordia turned things around efficiency-wise after the break as they connected on 46.2% (12-26) from the field, including a fiery 72.7% (8-11) from deep, to finish the night at 39.3% (24-61) and 41.7% (10-24), respectively. On the other side, MSU hit 49.2% (31-63) for the game and 38.5% (10-26) from three-point range.
 
Antwan Kimmons put up a full stat line with 22 points, six assists and five rebounds while hitting 6-14 from the floor and 9-12 from the free throw line while Marcus Skeete chipped in nine first half points.
 
STAT LEADERS
So far this season, the Golden Bears rank highly in several statistical categories.
 
As a team, CSP leads the NSIC and ranks 19th in the nation with 10.5 made threes per game while they also rank first and 16th, respectively, in free throws made with 18.6 per game. The Golden Bears also lead the way in free throw percentage at 77.7%, good for 23rd in the nation. Concordia also ranks second in the league and 34th in the country with 86.3 points per night as well as second in the conference and 13 in the nation with 29.6 defensive rebounds per game.
 
CSP has the top two in the conference in free throw percentage as Marcus Skeete ranks first at 91.9% and Ben Kopetzki ranks second at 90.6%. Skeete also sits in third with 6.2 defensive rebounds per game and fifth with a 55.0% field goal percentage. Japannah Kellogg ranks seventh with 2.5 offensive rebounds per game.
 
Despite missing three games this season, Jordan Horn leads the league and ranks sixth in the nation with 32 made threes while his 42 made free throws rank fourth and 58th, respectively.

CHASING HISTORY
Junior Marcus Skeete has been a key offensive contributor throughout his four seasons with the Golden Bears as he has tallied 977 career points over 77 games, putting him just 23 points away from becoming the 19th member of the 1,000 point club at CSP and first since Bryndan Matthews in 2019. The Aurora, Ill. native also sits 47 rebounds shy of 500 and four assists shy of 200 in his career. Only three players have reached the 1,000/500/200 club in navy and gold, with Skeete looking to join Jeff Chamberlain, Cole Olstad and Matthews in that exclusive group.