ST. PAUL, Minn. – The top-seeded and 24^th-ranked Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (21-7, 16-6 NSIC) will open play in the 2025 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament on Saturday at 4:30 p.m., taking on eighth-seeded Minot State (24-8, 14-8 NSIC) at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

NSIC CHAMPIONS!
Last weekend, the Golden Bears closed out the regular season with wins over Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston to clinch the first NSIC Regular Season Championship in program history. Concordia's first regular season NSIC title is a shared title, with Southwest Minnesota State also finishing 16-6 in conference play. The Golden Bears won the seeding tiebreaker with the Mustangs based on the conference's point rating system, securing the top overall seed in the NSIC Tournament. The Golden Bears, who have never finished above third place in the NSIC regular season standings until now, wrapped up the regular season with 21 wins, the most in a regular season in program history and tied for the most overall wins with the 2006-07 squad that finished 21-8 overall.

ALL-NSIC SELECTIONS
The NSIC released its all-conference teams on Thursday with Concordia-St. Paul Head Coach Matt Fletcher earning Coach of the Year honors while senior guard Antwan Kimmons secured Player of the Year honors. In addition, Kimmons and senior Marcus Skeete were named All-NSIC First Team while fellow senior Cade Meyer was named All-NSIC Second Team.
 
KSTP STORY
Head Coach Matt Fletcher and seniors Antwan Kimmons and Marcus Skeete caught up with Darren Wolfson of KSTP Sports for a story about Concordia's historic season. To read the story and watch the full interviews, click here.

NSIC SPOTLIGHT
Head Coach Matt Fletcher sat down with NSIC Assistant Commissioner Nick Kornder and SMSU Head Coach Brad Bigler on this week's NSIC Spotlight to talk about the programs' co-championships and the personal history between the two dating back to Fletcher's playing days. To watch the full spotlight, click here.

NSIC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
With the NSIC regular season title, the Golden Bears secured their first berth in the conference tournament since the 2019-20 season. Concordia men's basketball has appeared in 21 NSIC Tournament games in its history, holding a record of 4-17 in those games. CSP's last tournament win came on February 22, 2017 when the eighth-seeded Golden Bears knocked off top-seeded and 19^th-ranked MSU Moorhead in the first round. Concordia has played in two tournament games at the Sanford Pentagon: a 68-57 loss to Northern State in 2015 and a 73-51 loss to Minnesota State in 2017.

IN THE POLLS
The Golden Bears re-entered the NABC Rankings this week, coming in at No. 24 for the second time in three weeks. Concordia is once again the only Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference squad in the poll this week, with Southwest Minnesota State (21-7, 16-6 NSIC), Minnesota Duluth (20-8, 15-7 NSIC), MSU Moorhead (20-8, 15-7 NSIC), and St. Cloud State (19-11, 15-7 NSIC) all receiving votes. 

The ranking is CSP's second this season and just the second in program history, with the Golden Bears also coming in at 24th overall in the February 11 poll. 

In the D2CSC Media Poll, the Golden Bears remained in the rankings for the third week in a row, moving up four spots to No. 20 after being ranked No. 24 last week. SMSU also joins the Golden Bears in those rankings, coming in at No. 24. 

REGION RANKINGS
The second of three NCAA Region Rankings were released on Wednesday afternoon, and Concordia-St. Paul was ranked second in the central region. The Golden Bears were joined by eight other NSIC programs in the rankings: Southwest Minnesota State, MSU Moorhead, Winona State, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State, Minot State and St. Cloud State.

The NSIC, the Mid-America Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC) make up the 41-team NCAA Central Region. The top eight teams in the region will advance to the NCAA region tournament on March 14-17 with the highest seed serving as the host.  Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the MIAA, GAC and NSIC postseason tournaments, with the remaining five spots awarded on an at-large basis. The third and final region rankings will be released on Wednesday, March 5.

KIMMONS' HISTORIC SEASON
In the midst of all the team success this year, senior guard Antwan Kimmons has put together one of the strongest individual seasons in program history. His 691 points so far this season are a program record, breaking his own record of 591 from the 2022-23 season. His 240 free throws attempted and 180 free throws made are both program records, and his 236 field goals are also a school record. His 2024-25 scoring average of 24.7 points per game is the second highest in a single season in CSP history.

Kimmons has been named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)/Division II Conference Information Directors Association (D2CIDA) Division II Player of the Week two times this season, and is the only Golden Bear in program history to earn the honor. He has also secured NSIC Player of the Week honors three times.

Earlier this week, he was named the NSIC Player of the Year and took home All-NSIC First Team honors for the first time in his career.

Kimmons was also named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 50 Watch List, given each year to the top player in all of NCAA Division II, Division III, NAIA, USCAA, and NCCAA.

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears wrapped up the regular season last weekend with a win over Minnesota Crookston to secure a share of the first NSIC title in program history.

The Golden Bears were led by sophomore guard Ben Kopetzki in the win, who finished with a career-high 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go along with three assists, three steals, and a rebound.

Senior guard Antwan Kimmons logged his 17^th game of the season with 20 or more points, scoring 22 on 8-of-20 shooting while adding a game-leading six assists, a block, a steal, and a rebound.

The game marked an important career milestone for Marcus Skeete, who broke the CSP records for both games played (118) and games started (110). The senior swingman was a key piece in the victory, logging his seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and 17 rebounds. Skeete knocked down six of his 10 attempts from the field and was 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, also adding three assists, a block, and a steal. Skeete's 17 rebounds are tied for the most in a single game in school history, and are the most in a game by a Concordia player in the Division II era. 

Chet Kloss was the only other Golden Bear in double figures, scoring a season-high 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting while pulling down seven rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.

CSP held a narrow lead for the first few minutes of the game, but Minnesota Crookston jumped on top for what proved to be the first and only time at 15-14 with 13:30 on the clock in the opening half. The Golden Eagles managed to tie the game three more times at 25, 31, and 34, but CSP regained the lead on each occasion, eventually carrying a 43-39 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

Concordia wasted no time expanding its advantage early in the second half, opening the half on an 11-0 scoring run to make it a 15-point game just over two minutes in. The lead went on to peak at 21 points on two separate occasions throughout the half before CSP walked away with the 15-point victory.

As a team, Concordia shot 33-of-73 (45.2%) from the field and 10-of-28 (35.7%) from beyond the arc while Minnesota Crookston finished 26-of-63 (41.3%) overall and 5-of-17 (29.4%) from deep. The Golden Bears outrebounded the Golden Eagles 46-35 in the game and won the battle on the offensive glass by a margin of 13-6, leading to a 19-5 advantage in second chance points for CSP.  

MINOT STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears hold an all-time record of 3-10 against the Beavers, with Concordia's last win coming on January 27. 2023. The two teams met once earlier this season, with the Beavers coming away with a 92-78 victory on their home floor in January. The two teams have never met in the NSIC Tournament, and have never met on a neutral court. The Beavers defeated Sioux Falls 81-56 in the first round of the NSIC Tournament on Wednesday evening. 

LAST MEETING WITH THE BEAVERS
When the two teams last met in Minot, N.D. in January earlier this season, the Beavers secured a 92-78 win.

After trailing by as many as 13 early in the first half, the Golden Bears made it an eight-point game at the intermission with a score of 46-38. Concordia got within five early in the second half, but the Beavers dominated the final 10 minutes of the game to seal the double-digit victory.

Senior Marcus Skeete put together a strong all-around performance, leading all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc while also pacing the squad with seven rebounds and adding an assist and a block.

Cade Meyer also had a solid outing, contributing 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting while pulling down two rebounds and adding an assist and a block. Sophomore guard Ben Kopetzki had 12 points, three rebounds, and three assists while Antwan Kimmons was the final Golden Bear in double figures with 11 points, five rebounds, and a game-high five assists.

Japannah Kellogg led the effort off the bench with six points and six rebounds in 15 minutes on the floor.

Tied at 10-10 just under four minutes into the game, the Beavers took control with an 18-8 run lasting nearly seven minutes to carve out a double-digit lead at 28-18. The Golden Bears managed to cut the deficit to just three at 30-27 a few minutes later, but Minot State pushed its advantage back to eight at 46-38 at the intermission.

In the half, the Golden Bears shot 44.1% (15-of-34) from the field while Minot State was extremely efficient at 59.4% (19-of-32). The Beavers also held a narrow advantage in rebounds (17-16) and assists (7-6) in the half.

Concordia clawed its way back and managed to cut the deficit to five on two occasions near the midpoint of the second half, but the Beavers quickly pushed their advantage back to double digits and led by as many as 21 before securing the 14-point win.

As a unit, the Golden Bears were 30-of-64 (46.9%) from the field while the Beavers stayed hot throughout the game with a 36-of-64 (56.3%) shooting performance. Minot State also had an advantage from beyond the arc, going 11-of-23 (47.8%) while CSP was 8-of-21 (38.1%). The Golden Bears held a 14-13 edge in assists, but the Beavers outrebounded them by the same margin with a 33-32 advantage. Concordia was the stronger team in transition, dominating 15-2 in fast break points.

GOLDEN BEARS VS. THE FIELD
A total of eight teams remain in the NSIC Tournament field heading into the quarterfinals: Augustana, Concordia, Minnesota State, Minot State, MSU Moorhead, Southwest Minnesota State, St. Cloud State, and Winona State.

AUGUSTANA
All-time series: Augustana leads 31-7
NSIC Tournament History: N/A

MINNESOTA STATE
All-time series: Minnesota State leads 36-7
NSIC Tournament History: Minnesota State leads 1-0

MINOT STATE
All-time series: Minot State leads 10-3
NSIC Tournament History: N/A

MSU MOORHEAD
All-time series: MSU Moorhead leads 25-14
NSIC Tournament History: Series tied 1-1

SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
All-time series: SMSU leads 32-17
NSIC Tournament History: N/A

ST. CLOUD STATE
All-time series: St. Cloud State leads 27-9
NSIC Tournament History: N/A

WINONA STATE
All-time series: Winona State leads 46-7
NSIC Tournament History: Winona State leads 4-0

STAT LEADERS
After wrapping up the regular season schedule last weekend, the Golden Bears continue to rank highly on the conference and national statistics leaderboards in many important categories.

As a team, CSP's average of 30.46 defensive rebounds per game leads all of Division II while its scoring average of 87.6 points per game paces the NSIC and ranks 17th in Division II. Concordia also ranks second in the conference with 14.8 assists per game. The Golden Bears' team field goal percentage of 49.1% also paces the NSIC and is 20th in all of Division II.
 
The Golden Bears have been successful in drawing defensive contact throughout the season, ranking second in the league with an average of 22.8 free throw attempts per game.

Senior guard Antwan Kimmons continues to be one of the most dominant players in al of Division II, leading the NSIC and ranking fourth in the nation in points per game (24.7) while pacing the league and sitting 11th in Division II with 5.7 assists per game. The senior leads the nation in both free throw attempts (240) and made free throws (180). With 691 points and counting this season, Kimmons has already shattered his own school record for most points in a single season.

Senior Cade Meyer's field goal percentage of 60.7% is good for second in the conference and 18th in all of Division II so far this year. That mark would also be the fifth highest in a single season in school history.

Marcus Skeete continues to be Concordia's top rebounder, pulling down an average of 7.8 per game, good for sixth most in the NSIC. Skeete has also contributed on the offensive end, ranking ninth in the conference with an average of 15.2 points per game. Skeete's 17 rebounds in the regular season finale against Minnesota Crookston tied the single-game program record. Skeete also hit a major career milestone in that game, breaking the record for most games played (118) and started (111) in school history.