ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (9-2, 4-1 NSIC) will play its final games of 2024 this week, hitting the road for a game at Minnesota State (7-5, 3-1 NSIC) on Thursday before returning home to host Minnesota Duluth (7-3, 2-2 NSIC) on Saturday.

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CONCORDIA'S HOT START
Now 11 games into the season, both the CSP men's (9-2) and women's (11-0) teams are off to historic starts. With a combined record of 20-2 this year, the Golden Bears rank second in all of NCAA Division II with a combined winning percentage of .909. North Georgia is the national leader with a combined record of 18-1 (.947).

With last Saturday's win over Augustana, the Concordia men matched their best start to a season through 11 games in program history, tying the 2005-06 and 2006-07 Division II teams and the 1988-89 NAIA squad that all started 9-2.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears hosted a pair of NSIC opponents last weekend, sweeping the weekend with an 85-79 win over Wayne State (Neb.) on Friday and a 99-97 triumph over Augustana (S.D.) on Saturday.

In Friday's win over Wayne State, Wayne State took its first and only lead of the night with the first bucket of the game to go up 2-0, the Golden Bears put together an 8-0 run with three pointers from Skeete and Kopetzki and a hook shot from Meyer to take a lead that would hold for the remainder of the game.

The Wildcats kept it close in the following minutes and managed to pull within a single point at 18-17, but Concordia went on a 10-1 run lasting just over three minutes to extend the lead to double digits at 28-18 with 7:50 on the clock. The CSP advantage continued to grow throughout the remainder of the half, reaching as many as 16 points at 44-28 before a Wildcat jumper made it a 14-point game at the half.

The Golden Bears knocked down 17 of their 32 attempts (53.1%) from the field in the first half and were 6-of-11 from beyond the arc (54.5%) while Wayne State was just 13-of-29 overall (44.8%) and 3-of-10 (30.0%) from deep. Concordia also outrebounded the Wildcats 22-10 and held a 9-5 edge in assists.

Concordia maintained a double-digit advantage for the first 17 minutes of the second half, but a 5-0 Wildcat run made it a 74-68 game with 2:38 to play. The Golden Bears pushed the lead back to nine, but Wayne State made one final push to make it a six-point game at 82-76 with just 11 seconds to play. Following a pair of free throws from Skeete, a Wildcat three pointer with just five seconds to go would pull them within five. Kopetzki added the game's final point on a free throw with just three seconds remaining to settle the final score at 85-79.

Sophomore guard Ben Kopetzki topped the box score with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, also adding seven rebounds, six assists, and a steal.

Antwan Kimmons logged his second double-double of the season, tallying 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds, six assists, and a steal.

Marcus Skeete was just behind him with 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting with six boards and a steal. Cade Meyer was the only other Concordia player in double figures with 13 points and eight rebounds.

On Saturday, The Vikings carved out a 7-4 lead early in the opening half, but the Golden Bears battled back to even the game at 13-13 on three made free throws from Ben Kopetzki with 14:46 on the clock. The game remained close in the following minutes, but a 20-4 run by the Golden Bears that lasted more than six minutes gave CSP a 39-25 lead with 5:50 left in the half. Momentum flipped in the final five minutes, with Augustana going on a 19-9 run that made it a four-point game at the half.

The Golden Bears shot the ball well in the half, going 18-of-30 (60.0%) from the field and 4-of-9 (44.4%) from beyond the arc while the Vikings were 20-of-40 (50.0%) overall and 3-of-10 (30.0%) from deep. Augustana held a 19-17 rebounding advantage while assists were dead even at nine each.

Concordia worked to cushion its lead in the early minutes of the second half, using a quick 8-2 run to push the advantage all the way to 13 at 76-63 with 11:39 to play. The Golden Bears held the Vikings at arm's length for another two minutes of play, but Augustana put together an 11-2 run lasting just 1:26 to cut the deficit to three at 84-81 with 7:43 remaining.

The trend of momentum-shifting runs continued from that point, with Concordia managing an equally impressive 11-1 scoring burst to restore the 13-point advantage with just over five minutes to play.

The Vikings would not go down easy, scoring 11 unanswered points over the next three minutes to cut the deficit to just two points at 95-93 with under two minutes remaining in regulation. Following a pair of baskets from each team, Augustana took a timeout with just 14 seconds on the clock to draw up a final play with a chance to tie or take the lead at the buzzer. The Vikings managed to get two shots off on the possession, but neither of them fell as time expired and CSP escaped with a two-point victory.

Named NSIC Player of the Week for his efforts in both games, Ben Kopetzki finished as the scoring leader for the second time in as many games, tallying a career-high 26 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc while leading the team with seven rebounds and adding two assists and two steals.

Senior forward Cade Meyer came within a single point of his season high, scoring 23 on 10-of-16 shooting and adding four rebounds, two steals, a block, and an assist.

Antwan Kimmons also put together a strong performance, logging 19 points on 5-of-6 shooting and going a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line with four rebounds, a team-high six assists, and two blocks. Kimmons now sits at 976 career points at CSP, needing just 26 to become the 20^th member of Concordia's 1,000-point club.

Marcus Skeete was the only other Golden Bear in double figures with 11 points, three rebounds, and an assist.

MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears hold a 6-35 all-time record against the Mavericks, with Minnesota State winning the last 19 straight. Concordia's last win over MSU came on December 20, 2014, with CSP winning 75-73 at the Gangelhoff Center. The teams met just once last season, with the Mavericks winning 88-80 on their home court.
 
LAST MEETING WITH THE MAVERICKS
When the two teams last met in February of this year, the Mavericks secured an 88-80 win in Mankato, Minn.

It was a wild second half at Taylor Center as the Golden Bears saw the Mavericks run out to an 18-point lead before a huge 29-7 stretch gave CSP their first lead since the opening minutes of the contest at 70-66 with seven and a half minutes left. The Mavericks responded with a 20-4 run of their own to take the lead for good as they sealed their 19^th consecutive win in the all-time series, dropping Concordia to 6-35 against Minnesota State.
 
The Golden Bears were the far more efficient of the two teams offensively on the day as they hit 50.8% (30-59) from the floor and 50.0% (10-20) from beyond the arc while holding MSU to 35.7% (30-84) overall and 37.0% (10-27) from deep. The Mavericks made up for it with a large edge in opportunities as they won the battle on the glass and on the turnover front. Minnesota State turned a 22-4 advantage on the offensive glass into a 30-0 edge in second chance points while they turned 18 CSP turnovers into 23 points compared to 10 points on eight MSU turnovers for Concordia.
 
Antwan Kimmons was the top option for the Golden Bear offense as he was an efficient 11-16 shooting to finish with a game-high 26 points. He added seven boards and three assists on the day. Will Boser was a threat from deep off the bench as he hit 4-8 from three-point range to score a career-best 14 points in 25 minutes of action. Japannah Kellogg gave CSP four players in double figures as he filled the box score with 10 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the loss.
 
The duo of Elijah Hazekamp and Justin Eagins led the Mavericks with 20 points apiece while Dylan Peeters pulled down a game-high 19 rebounds in the win.
 
Three early threes gave the Golden Bears a 9-3 lead, but the Mavericks quickly turned the tide in their favor with an extended 22-5 run to build a 27-16 advantage of their own just past the midway point of the opening half. Concordia answered with five in a row before pulling as close as five before the break at 34-29. MSU managed to push it back to 11 with two and a half minutes to go before half, but back-to-back CSP buckets closed the cap to 43-36 after 20 minutes of play.
 
Minnesota State looked poised to put the game away as they used a 16-4 run to build their largest lead of the afternoon at 59-41 with 14:37 to play, but the Golden Bears came storming back. Concordia hit an incredible 11-11 from the floor while holding the Mavericks to 2-12 shooting over the next seven minutes to string together their massive run as they jumped ahead 70-66 at the 7:38 mark. The CSP lead would not last as the game of runs continued as MSU scored 20 of the next 24 points to gain the decisive edge at 86-74 in the final minute of play. A couple of late threes, including Skeete's before the horn, trimmed it to a final margin of 88-80.

With his three-pointer with 16 seconds to play in the game, Marcus Skeete reached the 1,000-point mark, making him the 19^th player in school history and first since Bryndan Matthews to reach the mark. Skeete grabbed his fourth double-double of the season as he finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in the loss.

MINNESOTA DULUTH SERIES HISTORY
Heading into the weekend, CSP has posted an all-time record of 13-20 against Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs have controlled the series in recent years, winning seven straight over the Golden Bears. The teams met just once last season, with UMD securing a 92-69 win at the Gangelhoff Center on December 14.

LAST MEETING WITH THE BULLDOGS
CSP and UMD were efficient offensively in the game's opening minutes, as CSP won the tip and immediately went inside for a Jappanah Kellogg slam on a feed from Antwan Kimmons. A driving layup by Marcus Skeete three and a half minutes into play made it a 9-7 UMD lead.
 
Kellogg finished with 10 points on 4-8 shooting, adding five rebounds (three offensive), a pair of assists and a pair of blocks in a strong 29 minutes. Skeete led CSP with 13 points on 5-8 shooting including hitting his only three-pointer of the night to go along with three rebounds and three assists, and Kimmons had six assists.
 
But the Bulldog offense never slowed, opening up a 23-9 lead following a 14-2 scoring run spanning just over five minutes of play. They added a 14-0 run to claim a 25-point lead with 6:18 to play in the half, taking it from 23-12 to 37-12 as part of an overall 28-5 run covering over 10 minutes of the half.
 
While the Bulldogs took a 48-28 lead into the break, Concordia would claw back early in the second half, with Skeete and Sean Mathieu connecting on back-to-back three-pointers to trim the margin to 14, 53-39. A three-pointer by Ian Sluice four minutes later made it a 13-point game, 61-48, with 12:17 remaining.
 
The Golden Bears had a solid showing from the arc, hitting nine three-pointers at a 39.1 percent clip (9-23), out-shooting UMD from deep as the Bulldogs were 6-16 (37.5%).
 
But the Bulldogs did their damage inside, and with volume, doubling up Concordia 56-28 in the paint and using a 16-7 edge on the offensive glass to the tune of a 16-3 scoring margin in second chance points. On the night, UMD out-rebounded Concordia 46-30, and with 56 points in the paint, held a 50.7 percent field goal percentage (35-69) as CSP shot 42.4 percent overall (25-59).
 
The Bulldogs also heavily capitalized on turnovers, as a 15-9 turnover margin turned into a 23-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
With Concordia trailing 64-50, a 14-point margin with just over 10 minutes to play, UMD stepped on the gas, and would eventually lead by 27 points in the final two minutes of play despite Concordia running with them to a 44-41 second half score. 

STAT LEADERS
11 games into the season, the Golden Bears continue to top charts in several statistical categories.
 
As a team, CSP's scoring average of 89.3 points per game leads the conference and ranks 17^th in all of Division II. Concordia also leads the NSIC with an average of 40.09 rebounds per game.

Concordia's Antwan Kimmons leads the conference and ranks 10th in all of Division II with 23.5 points per game this season, also leading the league in total points (259) and made field goals (91) . The senior also ranks paces the NSIC and sits 15^th in Division II with 5.8 assists per game.

Marcus Skeete ranks fifth in the conference with 8.2 rebounds per game, also ranking ninth with 15.6 points per game. His four double-doubles are good for second most in the conference and 16^th in all of Division II.
The reigning NSIC Player of the Week, sophomore guard Ben Kopetzki ranks sixth in the NSIC with a 1.70 assists-to-turnover ratio and sits 11^th in the conference with 14.9 points per game.

Senior forward Cade Meyer's field goal percentage of 68.3% is good for second in the conference and ninth in all of Division II so far this year.

1,000-POINT CLUB
With 974 career points at Concordia entering the weekend, Antwan Kimmons needs just 26 points to become the 20^th member of CSP's 1,000-point club.