ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (3-0, 1-0 NSIC) will head south to Springfield, Missouri this week for the Drury DoubleTree by Hilton Thanksgiving Classic where they will take on host Drury University (4-0) on Tuesday and McKendree University (Ill.) (3-0) on Wednesday.

DRURY DOUBLETREE BY HILTON THANKSGIVING CLASSIC INFORMATION
The Drury DoubleTree by Hilton Thanksgiving Classic will be hosted by Drury University at O'Reilly Family Event Center in Springfield, Missouri. Participating teams include Drury (Mo.), McKendree (Ill.), Central Missouri, and CSP.

Live stats will be available for all games. All games will be streamed behind a paywall on the GLVC Sports Network. Single game passes can be purchased for $15. A monthly subscription to the GLVC Sports Network is also available for $30.

For more information about the tournament, click here.

DOWNLOAD THE APP
Fans can download the CSP Bears fan app, free of charge and available in the App Store or on Google Play. The app contains rosters, schedules, scores, stats, news, social media and more! Customize your options to get notifications to your favorite teams, as well. Search "CSP Bears" in the app store to stay up-to-date on Golden Bear athletics.

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears played just a single game last week, topping Winona State 83-58 in their NSIC opener at the Gangelhoff Center.

Junior guard Ben Kopetzki was dominant for the Golden Bears with a career-high 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting (52.6%), including 4-of-9 (44.4%) from deep, while adding three rebounds, two assists, and a perfect 5-of-5 mark at the foul line. The junior is now averaging 24.7 points per game this season, scoring 21 or more in all three contests.

CSP set the tone early with a dominant first half, shooting 17-of-29 (58.6%) from the floor and 8-of-15 (53.3%) from deep to lead by as many as 24 on the way to a 47-24 halftime advantage. The Golden Bears used active hands on defense to help carve out an early advantage, forcing 13 first-half turnovers and scoring 19 points off WSU miscues before the break. For the night, CSP finished with 26 points off turnovers and 13 steals while committing only 12 turnovers of its own.

The Golden Bears maintained control throughout the second half, never allowing the Warriors to get within 16 points as they closed out their first conference win of the season. CSP finished 31-of-62 (50.0%) from the field, 11-of-25 (44.0%) from deep, and assisted on 22 of its 31 made baskets, the most in a game so far this season.

Junior forward Jaden Wysocki had his strongest game as a Golden Bear with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, knocking down three triples and adding an assist and a block in 18 minutes.

Sam West impacted the game on both ends, totaling seven assists, three rebounds, two steals, and a block to go along with his three points. Junior Chet Kloss was strong on the glass with a game-high nine rebounds to go along with two assists.

CSP also showcased its depth once again, with six players scoring off the bench for a total of 30 points. Marcus Burks finished with four points, three rebounds, and a block, while Reid Patterson and Patrick Bath added eight and six points, respectively, with Patterson also coming away with three steals.

The win was CSP's first over Winona State since February 22, 2019 and the first under Head Coach Matt Fletcher. Concordia's 25-point margin of victory matched its largest since January 17, 2025, when it defeated Minnesota Crookston 93-68.

STAT SHEET STANDOUTS
Junior Ben Kopetzki is off to a phenomenal start for the Golden Bear offense, leading the NSIC and ranking ninth in all of Division II with an average of 24.7 points per game. Kopetzki also ranks third in the conference in free throw percentage (95.7%) and fifth in three point percentage (38.1%).

Senior Sam West has been an effective ball distributor for the Golden Bears as he leads the conference with an average of 5.0 assists per game.

Redshirt freshman Ryan Johnson ranks second in the NSIC with 2.0 steals per game this season.

As a team, the Golden Bears rank second in the NSIC with an average of 86.7 points per game while ranking seventh in scoring defense as they have allowed opponents to score 72.7 points per game. CSP also ranks second in the NSIC in assists per game (17.0) and effective field goal percentage (56.8%) while leading the conference with 17.6 fastbreak points per game.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS
Tuesday will mark the first-ever meeting between Concordia and Drury. Both teams enter the week with perfect records so far this season.

The Panthers score an average of 84.8 points per game this season, good for the second-most in the GLVC. On Defense, they allow opponents to score just 63.5 points per game, a mark that ranks fourth in their conference and 16^th in all of Division II.
The Panther offense runs through guard Colin Hardrick (16.3 points per game) and swingman Zach Howell (16.5 points per game). Hardrick is also the leading rebounder for Drury, pulling down an average of eight per game.

ABOUT THE BEARCATS
Wednesday will mark another program first when CSP and McKendree face off for the first time ever. The Bearcats also hold a flawless record of 3-0 this season.

The Bearcats' identity lies with their defense, where they have allowed opponents to score just 45.3 points per game, the lowest mark in all of Division II. On offense, they score an average of 69.3 points per game, 11^th most in the GLVC.

Senior guard Cha'Vez Woods leads McKendree with a scoring average of 13.3 while sophomore Rini Harris adds 12.7 points per game and leads the team with 6.7 rebounds per game.