FAYETTE, Iowa – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (4-1) saw its perfect start to the season come to and end with a 96-88 non-conference loss to Upper Iowa (4-1) on Saturday afternoon at the Peacock Classic.
With their unbeaten streak ended, the Golden Bears matched the program's best-ever start in the D-II era (2018-19, 4-0) and came within one game of the best start in program history (1968-69, 5-0).
For the game, CSP shot 36-73 (49.3%) from the field while holding the Peacocks to 43.4% (33-76). Concordia also held scoring advantages in the paint (54-44) and on second chance opportunities (17-14).
Senior guard
Antwan Kimmons put together another outstanding effort with 30 points on 13-21 shooting to go along with four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Marcus Skeete notched his second double-double of the season with an 18-point, 10-rebound effort, knocking down eight of his 14 attempts from the field and adding four assists and three steals.
Ben Kopetzki finished with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals while
Cade Meyer also reached double figures with 12 points and eight rebounds.
A back-and-forth first half saw CSP lead by as many as seven while Upper Iowa peaked at a six-point advantage, eventually culminating in a 42-42 tie at the intermission. Concordia hit on 16 of its 34 attempts from the field (47.1%) in the half while the Peacocks were 17-40 (42.5%). The Golden Bears also managed a narrow 23-21 edge in rebounding.
The Golden Bears managed the first three buckets in the second half, but the Peacock offense came alive from that point with a 14-0 scoring run in just 2:19 of game time to open a 56-48 lead. CSP clawed its way back from there, eventually recapturing the lead on a three pointer by
Will Boser that made it 67-66. Five lead changes followed, but UIU closed the game on a 12-3 run to secure the eight-point win. Despite getting outscored 54-46 in the half, the Golden Bears outshot the Peacocks 51.3% (20-39) to 44.4% (16-36). UIU held a 23-19 edge in rebounds.
The Golden Bears will wrap up non-conference play tomorrow at the Peacock Classic, taking on Northwest Missouri State (1-4) in a neutral-site game at 1 p.m.
