SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Fueled by an explosive effort by its reserves off the bench, the No. 21 Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (4-0, 1-0 NSIC) stayed unbeaten on Tuesday night with a 94-83 win over previously undefeated Drury (4-1, 0-0 GLVC) in the first-ever meeting between the teams at the DoubleTree by Hilton Thanksgiving Classic.

CSP's depth proved decisive as the Golden Bears' bench outscored Drury's reserves by an astonishing 63-12 margin, thanks in large part to dominant performances from sophomore Owen Carlson and senior Reid Patterson.

Concordia peaked late with 50 second-half points to seal the win, shooting 53.5% from the field and over 45% from beyond the arc in the period. For the game, the Golden Bears finished 34-of-72 (47.2%) from the field and 9-29 (31%) from deep while dominating the glass 47-32 and outscoring the Panthers 20-15 on second chance opportunities. Drury connected on 30-66 (45.5%) from the field and 7-20 (35.0%) from deep in the game. The Golden Bears also turned Drury over 18 times and converted those miscues into 19 points.

Carlson delivered his best performance yet as a Golden Bear, pouring in a career-high 25 points and tying for the team lead with six rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench. He shot an efficient 9-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Through four games this season, the sophomore ranks third in the NSIC in field goal percentage (65.8%) and second in three point percentage (60.0%)

Patterson also had his strongest game of the season with 21 points and four rebounds, knocking down three triples and hitting all six of his free throws. Sophomore Marcus Burks provided another spark off the Concordia bench with 12 points on a 5-of-6 shooting night.

For the Golden Bear starters, junior guard Ben Kopetzki contributed 11 points, two rebounds, and a steal, while senior Sam West was impactful all over the floor with eight points, six rebounds, five steals, seven assists, and two blocks.

Junior forward Jaden Wysocki added six points and five rebounds, and Chet Kloss helped the Bears win the battle on the glass with six rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore Hudson Vaith chipped in five points, and Patrick Bath collected five boards in limited minutes.

In a first half featuring six ties and eight lead changes, each team spent time with the advantage as CSP led by as many as seven points while Drury led by as many as eight. A dunk from Wysocki in the final 90 seconds proved to be the difference at the break as CSP carried a 44-42 lead into halftime.

The Panthers quickly regained the lead early in the second half, a period which went on to feature six additional ties and six more lead changes. Concordia captured the advantage for what proved to be the final time with 11:43 on the clock on a triple from Carlson, going on to outscore Drury 30-17 the rest of the way to secure the double-digit win.

Drury was led by forward KeShaun Thomas, who posted a strong 27-point, 10-rebound double-double. Colin Hardrick added 18 points, while Zach Howell finished with 15.

The Golden Bears return to action on Wednesday afternoon at the O'Reilly Family Event Center, where they will face McKendree (Ill.) at 3:15 p.m. in their second game of the two-day event.