ST. PAUL, Minn. – The No. 21 Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (4-1, 1-0 NSIC) returns to the Gangelhoff Center this weekend to host four games at the CSP Thanksgiving Classic.

CSP THANKSGIVING CLASSIC INFORMATION
As a part of the CSP Thanksgiving Classic, the Golden Bears will take on Jamestown (N.D.) at 4 p.m. on Saturday and MSU Moorhead at 4 p.m. on Sunday. The Gangelhoff Center will also host a pair of neutral-site contests throughout the tournament, with Southwest Minnesota State and MSU Moorhead playing at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Jamestown and Southwest Minnesota State facing off at 2 p.m. on Sunday. All four games will be non-conference contests.

All games will be streamed free on the NSIC Network. Live stats will be available for all games.

BUY TICKETS TO HOME GAMES ONLINE
Fans are highly encouraged to purchase tickets online at cspbears.com/tickets prior to game day. All ticketed events for the 2025-26 academic year will utilize the Vivenu online ticket platform found at that link, and fans must scan a mobile ticket to enter. Tickets will still be sold on site on game day, but purchases are card-only and include additional fees. The best way for fans to make their game day entry as smooth as possible is to purchase tickets online in advance. CSP students, faculty, and staff will be able to download and transfer their free passes through Vivenu.

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.

WATCH ONLINE - NSIC NETWORK
All Golden Bear NSIC basketball games will be available to watch online, free of charge, powered by the NSIC Network, supported by BlueFrame Technology.

Visit nsicnetwork.com/cspbears on a laptop or desktop computer, download the NSIC Network app on your mobile device, or watch on your supported OTT provider such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Search "NSIC Network" and download the app for the league's full sport and team lineups. NSIC NETWORK FAQ

IN THE POLLS
The Golden Bears earned their highest ever position in this week's edition of the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II Men's Basketball Coaches Poll, coming in at No. 21 after receiving 82 points.

The ranking is just the third in program history, with the Golden Bears coming in at 24th in the February 11 and February 25 polls last season.  

CSP is the lone NSIC representative in this week's poll, with Minnesota Duluth receiving 37 points. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears traveled to Springfield, Mo. for a pair of games at the Drury DoubleTree by Hilton Classic on Tuesday and Wednesday where they defeated host Drury and fell to McKendree (Ill.).

GAME ONE: CSP 94, DRURY 83
In the win over Drury, 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.
 
GAME TWO: MCKENDREE 80, CSP 66
Despite standout scoring efforts from sophomore Owen Carlson and senior Sam West, CSP was unable to overcome a hot-shooting first half by the Bearcats, who built a 40-25 halftime lead and maintained control throughout. The deficit never dropped below 10 in the second half, with the Bearcats leading by as many as 19 on the way to a 14-point victory.

For the game, McKendree shot an efficient 28-of-56 (50%) from the field while outrebounding the Golden Bears 38–26. CSP finished 20-of-54 (37%) from the floor and 6-of-20 (30%) from deep. The Golden Bears also generated an 18-7 edge in fast-break points and a 24-14 advantage in bench points.

West led the Golden Bears in minutes for the fourth time in five games this season, finishing with 16 points, seven rebounds, two steals, two assists, and two blocks while shooting 4-of-11 from the floor and 7-of-9 at the stripe in 35 minutes of action. Carlson continued his emergence as a major offensive factor, pouring in 18 points off the bench with three triples while going a perfect 5-for-5 at the free-throw line. Junior Ben Kopetzki added 13 points, three assists, and two steals while logging 30 minutes in the backcourt.

Jaden Wysocki chipped in six points and a block, and Ryan Johnson added five rebounds and two points. Junior Chet Kloss tied a career high with three blocks in the game, also tallying three points and two rebounds.

STAT SHEET STANDOUTS
The reigning NSIC South Division Player of the Week, junior Ben Kopetzki is off to a strong start for the Golden Bear offense, ranking fourth in the NSIC with an average of 19.6 points per game. Kopetzki also ranks third in the conference in free throw percentage (90.6%).

Sophomore Owen Carlson has also been a key offensive piece for CSP, ranking seventh in the NSIC with 17.4 points per game while ranking fourth in field goal percentage (62.5%) and second in three point percentage (57.7%).

Senior Sam West has been an effective ball distributor for the Golden Bears, sitting second in the NSIC with 4.8 assists per game while ranking ninth with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.2.

As a team, Concordia ranks third in the NSIC with 84.0 points per game on offense and ninth with 76.2 points allowed per game on defense. The Golden Bears also rank second in blocks per game (4.0) and fourth in assists per game (15.40).

JAMESTOWN SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears and Jimmies have met a total of five times in prior seasons, with all four games occurring in 1995 or before, when both institutions were members of the NAIA.

Jamestown, which joined NCAA Division II and the NSIC prior to this season, holds a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series.

ABOUT THE JIMMIES
The Jimmies enter the weekend holding an overall record of 2-3 with an 0-1 mark in NSIC play.

Defensively, the Jimmies allow opponents to score 73.6 points per game, good for seventh in the NSIC. On offense, Jamestown averages 71.6 points per game, a mark that ranks 12^th in the conference.

Senior Anthony Walters has been the scoring leader for UJ so far this season, averaging 14.8 points per game to rank 19^th in the NSIC. Walters also ranks 16^th in field goal percentage (44.6%) and 14^th in three point percentage (34.4%).

The UJ offense runs through freshman Ford Okehi, who ranks fourth in the NSIC with 3.6 assists per game.

MSU MOORHEAD SERIES HISTORY
Sunday will mark the 40^th all-time meeting between the Golden Bears and Dragons, with MSU Moorhead holding a 25-14 edge in the series thus far.

The teams met twice last season, splitting the games with the road team winning both. The Golden Bears secured a 93-87 victory in Moorhead, Minn. on January 3 while the Dragons came away with a 92-85 win at the Gangelhoff Center on February 15.

ABOUT THE DRAGONS
MSU Moorhead enters the weekend with an overall record of 3-2 and a 1-0 mark in NSIC play.

The Dragons have scored at a high rate early in the season, ranking third in the NSIC with 83.6 points per game. On defense, they allow 84.6 points per game, good for 14^th in the conference.

Much like CSP, MSU Moorhead leans heavily on it reserves, with an NSIC-leading 41.6 bench points per game. The Dragons also shoot the ball efficiently, ranking second in the conference with a 49.0% shooting mark overall and sitting third in the NSIC with a three point percentage of 41.5%.

Junior Dominic Gooden leads the charge for the MSU Moorhead offense, averaging 19.6 points per game, the fourth highest mark in the conference.