HAYS, Kan. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (2-0) capped a perfect weekend at the NSIC/MIAA Challenge with a 79-68 road victory over Fort Hays State (1-1) on Sunday afternoon at Gross Memorial Coliseum.

CSP controlled the game from the opening tip, building a 44-34 halftime advantage before maintaining a double-digit margin for the majority of the second half in the wire-to-wire victory. The Bears' efficiency from beyond the arc and dominance on the glass set the tone once again, as they connected on 10-of-21 threes (47.6%) while limiting the Tigers to just 2-of-7 (28.6%) from deep and outrebounded FHSU 36-23.

Junior guard Ben Kopetzki fueled the offensive attack with a game-high 24 points, shooting 7-of-15 from the field while knocking down 2-of-5 from three and going a perfect 8-of-8 at the foul line. He added three rebounds, three assists, and two steals in another steady performance. Sophomore guard Owen Carlson provided a major spark off the bench, finishing with 17 points on an efficient 6-of-8 shooting day, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

In the frontcourt, junior forward Jaden Wysocki delivered one of the most complete performances of the afternoon, scoring 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting while adding a team-high six rebounds. Senior Sam West contributed 11 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals across 31 minutes.

Sophomore Patrick Bath tallied five points and three offensive boards, while Reid Patterson added five points and two rebounds.

Concordia asserted control early behind hot perimeter shooting, with threes from West, Wysocki, Carlson, and Patterson helping the Bears jump out to a 25-11 lead midway through the first half. Fort Hays State battled back to pull within five points on multiple occasions, but CSP responded each time the Tigers threatened to close the gap. The Bears took a 44-34 lead into halftime after a buzzer-beating three from Kopetzki.

The Concordia lead never dropped below eight points and reached as many as 18 in the second half as the Golden Bears cruised to the double-digit win.

For the game, Concordia shot 26-of-56 (46.4%) from the field, 10-of-21 (47.6%) from three, and 17-of-18 (94.4%) at the free-throw line. The Bears also outscored the Tigers 27-13 in bench points and 23-7 on fast-break opportunities.

Fort Hays State shot 52.7% overall but managed just 2-of-7 from three while going 8-of-11 (72.7%) at the charity stripe. The Tigers were led by Eli Lawson with 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting, while the trio of Kyle Grill, Lucas Hammeke, and Jahvari Martino added 13 points each.

The win pushed Concordia's all-time record against Fort Hays State to 2-0 as the Bears have now defeated the Tigers in back-to-back seasons in the only meetings between the two teams.

The Golden Bears will now return home to open Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play when they host Winona State on Wednesday at 6 p.m.