MINOT, N.D.  – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (14-5, 9-4 NSIC) opened its two-game road trip to North Dakota on Friday evening, falling to No. 22 Minot State (19-3, 10-3 NSIC) 92-78 at the Minot State Dome.

After trailing by as many as 13 early in the first half, the Golden Bears made it an eight-point game at the intermission with a score of 46-38. Concordia got within five early in the second half, but the Beavers dominated the final 10 minutes of the game to seal the double-digit victory.

Senior Marcus Skeete put together a strong all-around performance, leading all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc while also pacing the squad with seven rebounds and adding an assist and a block.

Cade Meyer also had a solid outing, contributing 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting while pulling down two rebounds and adding an assist and a block. Sophomore guard Ben Kopetzki had 12 points, three rebounds, and three assists while Antwan Kimmons was the final Golden Bear in double figures with 11 points, five rebounds, and a game-high five assists.

Japannah Kellogg led the effort off the bench with six points and six rebounds in 15 minutes on the floor.

Tied at 10-10 just under four minutes into the game, the Beavers took control with an 18-8 run lasting nearly seven minutes to carve out a double-digit lead at 28-18. The Golden Bears managed to cut the deficit to just three at 30-27 a few minutes later, but Minot State pushed its advantage back to eight at 46-38 at the intermission.

In the half, the Golden Bears shot 44.1% (15-of-34) from the field while Minot State was extremely efficient at 59.4% (19-of-32). The Beavers also held a narrow advantage in rebounds (17-16) and assists (7-6) in the half.

Concordia clawed its way back and managed to cut the deficit to five on two occasions near the midpoint of the second half, but the Beavers quickly pushed their advantage back to double digits and led by as many as 21 before securing the 14-point win.

As a unit, the Golden Bears were 30-of-64 (46.9%) from the field while the Beavers stayed hot throughout the game with a 36-of-64 (56.3%) shooting performance. Minot State also had an advantage from beyond the arc, going 11-of-23 (47.8%) while CSP was 8-of-21 (38.1%). The Golden Bears held a 14-13 edge in assists, but the Beavers outrebounded them by the same margin with a 33-32 advantage. Concordia was the stronger team in transition, dominating 15-2 in fast break points.

Caleb Van De Griend led the Beavers with 23 points and eight rebounds, knocking down eight of his 11 attempts from the field.

The Golden Bears will wrap up their North Dakota trip tomorrow afternoon, facing UMary (4-18, 2-11 NSIC) at 3:30 p.m. in Bismarck, N.D.