ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (7-3, 2-2 NSIC) suffered an 80-71 home loss to the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State (5-4, 3-1 NSIC) on Saturday evening at the Gangelhoff Center after a slow start proved too much to come back from. 

Despite scoring efforts from juniors Ben Kopetzki and Jaden Wysocki who combined for 37 points, CSP was unable to match the early lead set by the Mustangs, who started red hot  building a 27-9 lead. The deficit never dropped below 10 points in the first half, with the Mustangs leading by as many as 18. 

The Golden Bears worked to narrow the gap in the second half, getting within six points late but a quick three by SMSU would once again extend the deficit. A back-and-forth of shots from both sides would keep the game out of Concordia's reach. 

Wysocki scored a season-high 18 points, going 7-11 from the field, while adding five rebounds and two assists. 

The Navy and Gold shot 27-of-62 (43%) from the field while SMSU found themselves 28-of-57 (49%). Both teams struggled from deep, Concordia finishing 9-of-26 (34%) edging the Mustangs who went 5-of-18 (27%).  CSP generated 19 fast break points while scoring 12 points off turnovers. 

Sam West led the team in minutes with 34, playing over a 30-minute outing for the eighth time this season, finishing with 10 points, seven assists and six steals continuing his all-around pressure on the floor. 

Southwest Minnesota State was led by a standout performance from Jakob Braaten, who scored a game-high 27 points with a team-leading eight rebounds. Mason Lund added 12 points and six rebounds with Micah Schlaak notching 12 points of his own to round out the top scoring efforts for the Mustangs. 

The Golden Bears will return to NSIC action tomorrow afternoon, where they will face the Cougars of Sioux Falls at 2 p.m. in the Gangelhoff Center to mark their final home game of 2025.