SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The top-seeded and 24th-ranked Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (21-8) fell in the quarterfinals of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament on Saturday evening, dropping a high-scoring 94-85 decision to eighth-seeded Minot State (25-8) at the Sanford Pentagon.
With Concordia now eliminated from the NSIC Tournament, the Golden Bears will await the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, March 9 with hopes of securing an at-large bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament. The Golden Bears were ranked second in the central region in the most recent NCAA Regional Rankings, with the winners of the NSIC, MIAA, and GAC Tournaments receiving automatic bids and the other five spots awarded on an at-large basis.
The Golden Bears started hot, with senior guard
Antwan Kimmons nailing a three pointer on the game's opening possession before a block from
Cade Meyer on the other end led to a dunk by
Japannah Kellogg to give CSP a 5-0 lead less than a minute in. Concordia's lead grew to six points a few minutes later with the Bears holding a 12-6 advantage, but the Beavers took control of the half at that point, outscoring the Golden Bears 41-22 throughout the remainder of the half to take a 47-34 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The early minutes of the second half were kind to the Golden Bears once again, with CSP opening the period on a 12-4 scoring run to cut the deficit to just five points at 51-46. The Golden Bears continued to hang around in the following minutes, with a three pointer from
Marcus Skeete making it a one possession game at 56-53 with just under 14 minutes to play. That proved to be as close as Concordia could get, with Minot State going on a 16-9 run in the following seven minutes to restore a double-digit advantage at 72-62. Both teams continued to score in high volumes throughout the remainder of the game, but the Beavers managed to hold off the Bears and maintain a comfortable advantage on the way to a nine-point victory.
As a unit, the Golden Bears finished the evening 31-of-66 (47.0%) from the floor while the Beavers finished 36-of-68 (52.9%). Minot State also narrowly outrebounded CSP 37-35 and had 14 assists to Concordia's 12. Concordia outscored the Beavers 15-13 on fast break opportunities, but Minot State negated that edge with a 52-44 scoring advantage in the painted area.
Kimmons was his usual dominant self in his first taste of postseason action as a Golden Bear, leading all players in the game with 35 points on 14-of-25 shooting to go along with a team-high six assists and four rebounds. Kimmons was particularly effective in the second half, scoring 20 of his 35 points and dishing five assists. It was Kimmons' ninth game of the season with 30 or more points.
Senior forward
Japannah Kellogg logged his second career double-double in the game, scoring 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds, a team-leading two steals, an assist, and a block.
Marcus Skeete and
Ben Kopetzki also chipped in 12 points each, adding nine and four rebounds, respectively.
Cade Meyer rounded out Concordia's starters with seven points, two rebounds, and two blocks while
Reid Patterson and
Ian Sluice provided all the bench scoring with four and three points, respectively.
For the Beavers, Ayouba Berthe led the way on offense with 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Center Caleb Van De Griend also knocked down seven of his 13 attempts, scoring 17 points and pulling down 13 rebounds for the double-double.
Concordia now holds a record of 4-18 in 22 total NSIC Tournament games, with Saturday's contest being the first meeting between the Golden Bears and Beavers in postseason play. The win gave the Beavers an 11-3 advantage in the all-time series with Concordia.
Minot State will now advance to the NSIC Semifinals on Monday, facing the winner of Sunday's Minnesota State/St. Cloud State tilt.
