ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (6-3, 1-2 NSIC) hits the road this weekend in NSIC play as they travel to Southwest Minnesota State (4-3, 1-2 NSIC) on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Sioux Falls (3-5, 1-2 NSIC) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, CSP picked up a split on their home court as they fell to Augustana 92-87 on Saturday and knocked off Wayne State 84-76 on Sunday.
 
Trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half and as many as 15 after the break on Saturday, the Golden Bears showed their grit as they trimmed the deficit to one possession on both occasions, but they couldn't quite get over the hump as the Vikings held on. Concordia's starting unit did the heavy lifting offensively with all five starters scoring in double figures and the quintet combining for 72 of the team's 87 points.
 
Marcus Skeete led the way with 18 points on an efficient 6-9 shooting and 6-6 from the free throw line while he added eight rebounds and three assists. Jordan Horn and Japannah Kellogg followed close behind as they each finished with 16 points. Horn picked up his second double-double in the past three games with a game-high 11 rebounds while Kellogg was nearly perfect from the floor, hitting 6-7 to go along with six boards.
 
With their top two scorers out for Sunday's game, junior Marcus Skeete stepped up in a big way as he scored a season-best 30 points and matched his career high with 13 boards in the win. Skeete was highly efficient as he hit 8-13 from the field, 4-7 from beyond the arc and 10-10 from the free throw line in the contest.
 
Sean Mathieu gave Concordia two players in double digits in scoring as he added 13 points on 6-10 shooting while he added three rebounds and two assists. Japannah Kellogg pulled down nine rebounds and blocked three shots while scoring five in the victory.
 
SMSU SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears enter this weekend's contest with a record of 15-32 against Southwest Minnesota State. After winning just seven of the first 32 meetings in the all-time series, CSP has improved over recent years with eight wins in the past 16 dating back to 2015, including wins in five of the past seven contests. In 22 previous meetings in St. Paul, Concordia has gone 10-13.
 
LAST MEETING WITH THE MUSTANGS
In the last meeting on Feb. 4, picked up their second consecutive dramatic victory and fourth straight win overall with a 63-60 win over SMSU.
 
Trailing 60-57 with 1:14 left on the clock, Antwan Kimmons knocked down a pair of free throws to cut it to one before Marcus Skeete drove in for a go-ahead layup with 28 seconds remaining. Kimmons added two more free throws with 4.3 seconds to go before the Golden Bears forced an off target contested jumper at the horn to secure the win.
 
While the Mustangs were the more efficient team from the floor on the night, shooting 47.1% (24-51) compared to 40.4% (21-52), Concordia proved to be more effective from beyond the arc and at the free throw line. CSP doubled up the Mustangs from three-point range with an 8-4 edge in made threes while they were nearly perfect from the free throw line, missing just one of 14 attempts (92.9%). The Golden Bears also won the transition battle as they tallied 17 fastbreak points while limiting SMSU to just six.
 
For the second night in a row, CSP's starting quartet of Antwan Kimmons, Marcus Skeete, Sean Mathieu and Jacob Everson all reached double figures in the win. Kimmons paced the Golden Bears with 17 points, six boards, three assists while knocking down all nine of his free throw attempts. Skeete hit 4-5 from the line to finish with 13 points, three rebounds and two assists.
 
SIOUX FALLS SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears and Cougars are meeting for the 30th time in the all-time series this weekend as CSP enters with a 7-22 record against USF. Concordia's best stretch in the series came back in 2015-16 as they won three of four during that span, but the Cougars had won the following 11 meetings until last season's win for CSP. The Golden Bears have gone 5-9 in 13 contests in St. Paul.
 
LAST MEETING WITH THE COUGARS
Back on Feb. 3, CSP picked up their third win in a row at Gangelhoff Center with a 69-67 win over Sioux Falls.
 
Facing the top team in the NSIC South Division standings, the Golden Bears stifled the Cougars, holding them to 42.0% (21-50) from the floor, as they withstood a late USF surge with Sean Mathieu knocking down a go-ahead three with 1:41 left to secure the win.
 
Concordia dominated down low as they compiled a 36-20 edge in points in the paint while pulling down eight offensive boards compared to five for USF. CSP also won the turnover battle as they forced a season-high 20 turnovers while holding an 18-14 advantage in points off turnovers in the win.
 
Four of Concordia's five starters reached double figures on the night as Antwan Kimmons led all players with 22 points to go along with five rebounds and four steals. Marcus Skeete added a full line with 15 points, four boards, three assists and two blocks while Sean Mathieu and Jacob Everson chipped in 10 points apiece.
 
STAT LEADERS
So far this season, the Golden Bears rank highly in several statistical categories.
 
As a team, CSP leads the NSIC and ranks 17th in the nation with 10.7 made threes per game while they also rank first and seventh, respectively, in free throws made with 20.4 per game. The Golden Bears also lead the way in the conference in defensive rebounds per game with 30.78, good for fifth in the nation, and free throw percentage at 77.3%, good for 29^th in the nation. Concordia also ranks second in the league and 24th in the country with 89.1 points per night.
 
Individually, Jordan Horn's 24.9 points per game lead the NSIC and rank seventh in the country while the senior also leads the league and ranks fourth in the nation in threes made per game (4.00). He also ranks second in the conference and 34^th in the nation in free throw percentage (91.7%) and well as second in the nation and 26^th in the nation in free throws made (42).
 
CSP has the top three in the conference in free throw percentage as Marcus Skeete (first at 91.750 and Ben Kopetzki (third at 90.0%) join Horn. Skeete also ranks third in the league with 6.5 defensive rebounds per game and a 58.9% field goal percentage while Japannah Kellogg ranks fourth with eight total blocks. Sean Mathieu also ranks eighth with 28 assists on the year.