ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (16-6, 11-5 NSIC) is set for another busy week of action, hosting Sioux Falls (12-10, 8-8 NSIC) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before hitting the road for a game at Wayne State (14-8, 8-8 NSIC) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

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NABC/D2CIDA NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior guard Antwan Kimmons was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)/Division II Conference Information Directors Association (D2CIDA) Division II Player of the Week for the second time this season, it was announced on Tuesday afternoon. A three-time Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Player of the Week so far this season, Kimmons is still the only Golden Bear in program history to earn national weekly recognition. 

In two games last week, Kimmons averaged 32 points, 8.5 rebounds, and six assists per game while shooting 63% from the field, 60% from beyond the arc, and 89% from the free throw line. In Thursday's win over Minnesota State, Kimmons led all players with 37 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. In Saturday's game at Minnesota Duluth, he logged a 27-point, 10-rebound double-double with six assists.

NSIC TOURNAMENT HUNT
The Golden Bears are seeking their first berth to the NSIC Tournament since the 2019-20 season where they fell to Minnesota Duluth 92-87 in double overtime on the road in the first round.  With just six games left to play, the Golden Bears currently sit third in the conference standings, with the top 12 teams securing a spot in the tournament field and the top four seeds earning first round byes that will automatically advance them to the quarterfinals at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. 

LAST TIME OUT
Last week, the Golden Bears defeated Minnesota State 93-71 on Thursday evening at the Gangelhoff Center before falling to Minnesota Duluth 88-87 on Saturday afternoon in Duluth, Minn.

In Thursday's win over Minnesota State, the Mavericks opened a 7-0 lead early in the game before the Golden Bears put together a 16-0 run of their own to take the lead and never looked back. CSP never relinquished the advantage after taking it, leading by as many as 25 in the second half on the way to a dominant 22-point win.

With 14 points, seven rebounds, and a block in the game, senior forward Cade Meyer crossed the 1,000-point mark in his collegiate career, now sitting at 1,002 points with 598 in two seasons at Division I Green Bay, 101 in one season at Division I Northern Kentucky, and 303 at CSP so far this season.

Antwan Kimmons filled up the box score for the Golden Bears once again, pouring in 37 points on 15-of-24 shooting while adding seven rebounds, six assists, and a steal. It was Kimmons' fourth-highest scoring output this season, and his seventh game with 30 or more points this year.

Marcus Skeete was Concordia's second leading scorer, adding 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds and five assists. Ben Kopetzki and Reid Patterson added eight points and four rebounds each for CSP, with Kopetzki also chipping in two assists.

In Saturday's game at Minnesota Duluth, both teams spent roughly nine minutes with the lead in the first half, but Minnesota Duluth managed to carve out a 47-44 lead at halftime. A late push by the Golden Bears cut an eight-point deficit down to just one with 10 seconds remaining in the second half, but Concordia's final shot attempt was blocked as time expired to seal the narrow victory for UMD.

Senior guard Antwan Kimmons put together another outstanding outing, logging his fourth double-double of the season with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists in the game. He was extremely efficient with his shots, going 7-of-11 from the floor, 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 11-of-13 from the free throw line.

Sophomore Ben Kopetzki was a key contributor for the Golden Bears, going 5-of-10 from the floor and a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc to score 17 points while adding two assists, a rebound, and a steal.

Junior guard Reid Patterson provided a huge spark off the bench, knocking down four of his six shots, including 3-of-5 from deep, to score 11 points and help Concordia outscore UMD 18-12 in bench points. Japannah Kellogg was the only other Golden Bear in double figures with 10 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. Cade Meyer added seven points and six rebounds, while Marcus Skeete had seven points and three rebounds for CSP.

SIOUX FALLS SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears hold a 6-18 all-time record against the Cougars, including a 4-8 record at the Gangelhoff Center. The series has been closer in recent years, with each team winning two of the last four meetings.
 
LAST MEETING WITH THE COUGARS
The Golden Bears last met the Cougars in December earlier this season, securing a 97-69 win in Sioux Falls, S.D. 

Sioux Falls took its only lead with the first bucket of the night, and after Concordia scored the next two, it would hold the lead the rest of the evening.

It didn't take long for the offense to get running, either, as CSP turned an 8-6 lead with just over 16 minutes to play in the half into a 28-10 margin, using a 12-0 run as part of a larger 20-4 stretch of basketball.

The 12-0 burst featured 5-5 CSP shooting with Skeete scoring five points including back-to-back three-pointers in tandem with Antwan Kimmons, while Ben Kopetzki bookended the run with layups. The five scores on five possessions were accompanied by four missed Cougar buckets and a turnover and happened in the blink of an eye, using just over two minutes of clock to take a 20-6 lead with 14 minutes left in the half.

The Cougars would get the next four points before four different Golden Bears scored during another 8-0 stretch that used up just over a minute and a half of time for a 28-10 lead with 11:31 to play in the half.

With Concordia scoring quickly and efficiently to amass its lead, that would tell the story of the night, as Concordia had five players in double-figures by halftime, including three different 20-point margins before heading into the locker room ahead 52-35.

Concordia shot 62.9 percent (22-35) in the first half while stifling the Cougars to 31.0 percent (13-42) shooting on their home nets, including 0-8 from the arc.

In the second half, Concordia would lead by as many as 32, putting the game away with defense as the Cougars shot just 33.3 percent (11-33) in the second half and finished the night 4-21 (30.8%) from the arc.

Concordia's offense would slow down, but just a little bit, finishing the contest shooting a strong 55.7 percent (39-70) from the field while burying 10 three-pointers at a 35.7 percent (10-28) clip.

Skeete led the way with 27 points on 11-16 shooting, 3-5 three-point shooting, and 13 rebounds, adding three steals and a pair of assists.

Kopetzki finished with 18 points, knocking down 8-of-14 from the floor and adding three assists and three steals.

Kimmons flirted with a triple-double, scoring 12 points on eight shots (5-8) while adding 2-4 three-point shooting. He dished out nine assists and collected eight rebounds.

On the interior, Cade Meyer put up 14 points on 6-9 shooting and navigated his way around foul trouble to contribute 20 minutes. Ian Sluice rounded out the starting five by hitting a pair of three-pointers.

The bench effort was led by Reid Patterson's seven points, hitting a three-pointer and knocking down all four of his free throw attempts.

WAYNE STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears have posted an all-time record of 21-31 record against the Wildcats, including a 7-17 mark on the road. CSP has won two of the last three meetings, including an 85-79 win at the Gangelhoff Center earlier this season. 
 
LAST MEETING WITH THE WILDCATS
The two teams last met on December 13 earlier this season, with Concordia coming away with an 85-79 win at the Gangelhoff Center.  

Sophomore guard Ben Kopetzki topped the box score with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, also adding seven rebounds, six assists, and a steal.

Antwan Kimmons logged his second double-double of the season, tallying 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds, six assists, and a steal.

Marcus Skeete was just behind him with 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting with six boards and a steal. Cade Meyer was the only other Concordia player in double figures with 13 points and eight rebounds.

Sophomore guard Will Boser led the effort off the bench with six points and an assist on 2-of-3 shooting with all three attempts coming from deep. Japannah Kellogg made his season debut in the game, flushing a dunk in the second half on what would turn out to be his only shot attempt.

After Wayne State took its first and only lead of the night with the first bucket of the game to go up 2-0, the Golden Bears put together an 8-0 run with three pointers from Skeete and Kopetzki and a hook shot from Meyer to take a lead that would hold for the remainder of the game.

The Wildcats kept it close in the following minutes and managed to pull within a single point at 18-17, but Concordia went on a 10-1 run lasting just over three minutes to extend the lead to double digits at 28-18 with 7:50 on the clock. The CSP advantage continued to grow throughout the remainder of the half, reaching as many as 16 points at 44-28 before a Wildcat jumper made it a 14-point game at the half.

The Golden Bears knocked down 17 of their 32 attempts (53.1%) from the field in the first half and were 6-of-11 from beyond the arc (54.5%) while Wayne State was just 13-of-29 overall (44.8%) and 3-of-10 (30.0%) from deep. Concordia also outrebounded the Wildcats 22-10 and held a 9-5 edge in assists.

Concordia maintained a double-digit advantage for the first 17 minutes of the second half, but a 5-0 Wildcat run made it a 74-68 game with 2:38 to play. The Golden Bears pushed the lead back to nine, but Wayne State made one final push to make it a six-point game at 82-76 with just 11 seconds to play. Following a pair of free throws from Skeete, a Wildcat three pointer with just five seconds to go would pull them within five. Kopetzki added the game's final point on a free throw with just three seconds remaining to settle the final score at 85-79.

For the game, CSP went 30-of-62 (48.4%) from the field and 10-of-24 (41.7%) from beyond the arc while the Wildcats were 32-of-69 overall (46.4%) and 9-of-25 (36.0%) from deep. Though they didn't fully capitalize on their opportunities, the charity stripe provided a significant advantage for the Golden Bears as Concordia made 15 of its 26 free throw attempts while Wayne was 6-of-8.

STAT LEADERS
The Golden Bears continue to rank highly on the conference and national statistics leaderboards in many important categories, particularly on offense.

As a team, CSP's scoring average of 86.7 points per game paces the NSIC and ranks 22nd in all of Division II. Concordia also leads the league with 39.9 rebounds per game as a team, and ranks fourth in the conference with 14.6 assists per game. The Golden Bears' team field goal percentage of 49.5% also paces the NSIC and is 19th 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 23.3 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 (24.9) while pacing the league and sitting 10th in Division II with 5.8 assists per game. The senior leads the nation in both free throw attempts (192) and made free throws (146). Kimmons has scored 40 or more points three times so far this season, including a pair of 43-point performances, and is the only Golden Bear with more than one such game in his career. His current scoring average of 24.9 points per game would be the highest single-season mark in school history. Kimmons entered the top 10 in career scoring at Concordia last week, now ranking ninth in program history with 1,262 points in his career as a Golden Bear. With 429 free throw attempts and 332 made free throws in his career thus far, Kimmons ranks fifth in both attempts and makes in Concordia history. His 266 career assists also rank highly, currently sitting as the seventh most in school history. 

Senior forward Cade Meyer's field goal percentage of 64.6% is good for second in the conference and 13th in all of Division II so far this year. In Thursday's win over Minnesota State, Meyer scored his 1,000th collegiate point, with 598 points in two seasons at Division I Green Bay, 101 points in one season at Division I Northern Kentucky, and 311 points at CSP so far this season.

Marcus Skeete continues to be Concordia's top rebounder, pulling down an average of 7.4 per game, good for seventh most in the NSIC. Skeete enters the weekend with 705 rebounds in his career, good for fourth most in school history, and 1,503 career points, also the fourth most in program history.