ST. PAUL, Minn.  – Powered by a 40-point performance from senior guard Antwan Kimmons on a night in which he crossed the 1,000 career points mark as a Golden Bear, the Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (10-3, 5-2 NSIC) got back in the win column on Saturday afternoon with a 93-89 victory over Minnesota Duluth (7-5, 2-4 NSIC) at the Gangelhoff Center.

The Golden Bears scored the first bucket of the game, but that would be the only lead they would hold in the first half as UMD took control and led by as many as 14 before Concordia stormed back to make it a one-point game at halftime. The Bears went on to tie the game at 70 each with 7:46 on the clock and recapture the lead soon after at 75-74. CSP never trailed from that point on, holding on for a four-point win.

Kimmons was sensational for the Golden Bears, posting his second 40-plus point game of the season and just the fourth in Golden Bear history with 40 points on 13-of-22 shooting to go along with 10 assists, eight rebounds, three steals, and a block. With his 10^th point of the afternoon, Kimmons became the 20^th member of CSP's 1,000-point club. Scoring 174 points in his three-year career at Northern Iowa before transferring to Concordia, the senior has now scored 1,204 total points in his collegiate career.

Ben Kopetzki was second on the score sheet for the Bears, logging 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and adding four rebounds and two assists. Cade Meyer also reached double figures with 11 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting performance from the field while adding five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.

Marcus Skeete and Ian Sluice rounded out the starters for Concordia with eight and five points, respectively. Japannah Kellogg chipped in four points, three rebounds, three blocks, and a steal off the bench for CSP.

For the game, the Golden Bears outshot the Bulldogs 57.1% (32-of-56) to 48.1% (37-of-77) from the field and held a decisive 46.2% to 28.6% advantage from beyond the arc. UMD finished with a narrow 35-33 edge in rebounding, but the Bears had 16 assists to Minnesota Duluth's 13. Fast break opportunities provided another advantage for the Golden Bears as they outscored UMD 13-4 in fast break points.

Kimmons got the Golden Bears on the board first with a layup just 15 seconds into the game, but that proved to be the only lead Concordia would hold throughout the first half as UMD used a 23-9 run covering more than seven minutes to open a 30-16 lead near the midpoint of the half. The Golden Bears regained momentum at that point, using a 25-11 run of their own covering more than eight minutes to tie the game at 41-41 with 2:36 on the clock. UMD managed to regain the lead in the waning minutes of the half, carrying a one-point advantage into the intermission at 45-44.

The Bulldogs carried the momentum early in the second half as they kept the Bears at arm's length and led by as many as eight points, but CSP turned the tide with a 10-4 run lasting just over three minutes that tied the game at 70 each with 7:46 remaining in regulation. Three additional ties followed before Concordia finally managed to break through and recapture the lead at 76-74 on a pair of free throws from Kellogg with 5:34 on the clock. Minnesota Duluth tied the game up on two subsequent occasions, but the Golden Bears did not trail the rest of the way as they outscored UMD 17-13 in the final five minutes en route to a 93-89 win.

Charlie Katona paced the Bulldogs with 29 points on 13-of-26 shooting while Joshua Brown added 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting.

The Golden Bears will be idle over the holiday break before returning to action at #6 MSU Moorhead on Friday, January 3.