WAYNE, Neb. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (8-4, 3-3 NSIC) suffered a 79-65 setback to Wayne State College (6-6, 2-4 NSIC) on Thursday afternoon at Rice Auditorium.

The loss snapped a two-game winning streak over Wayne State for CSP, and the Golden Bears are now 3-2 in their last five against the Wildcats.

Junior Ben Kopetzki paced Concordia with a game-high 25 points for his eighth 20-plus-point performance this year. He connected on 10-of-24 shots from the field and knocked down five three-pointers in the game. Senior Sam West added seven points, nine rebounds, and a team-high five assists, while Jaden Wysocki finished with seven points and five rebounds. Reid Patterson added seven points and three rebounds, and Owen Carlson contributed seven points off the bench.

The Golden Bears built early momentum and led for much of the opening half, leading by as many as nine points before taking a 31-27 advantage into halftime. Concordia knocked down five three-pointers in the first 20 minutes and forced 11 Wayne State turnovers to maintain the lead at the break. Concordia held a 56-55 lead with 6:40 to play in the second half, but the Wildcats put together a 14-2 run from that point on to take firm control late in the game on the way to the double-digit win.

As a team, Concordia shot 27-of-65 (41.5%) from the field and 10-of-34 (29.4%) from three-point range, while being limited to just four free throw attempts. Wayne State finished 32-of-65 (49.2%) shooting, held a 44-30 rebounding advantage, and outscored CSP 50-32 in the paint.

The Wildcats were led by Darshan Thomas with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Andrew Stokes added 15 points and seven rebounds. JJ Ferrin chipped in 11 points, and Aurrion Harris contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Golden Bears will wrap up play in 2025 on Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D., when they take on Augustana in their final game before the holiday break.