ST. PAUL, Minn. – The fifth-seeded Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (21-8) will make its debut in the NCAA Central Region Tournament in Topeka, Kansas on the campus of Washburn University this weekend, taking on fourth-seeded NSIC foe Minot State (26-9) for the second consecutive game on Saturday at 8 p.m.

NCAA CENTRAL REGION TOURNAMENT
The Golden Bears were selected to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, securing an at-large bid and the fifth seed in the eight-team central region. Four other NSIC teams secured tournament berths, with MSU Moorhead (23-8) receiving the second seed after claiming the conference's automatic bid by winning the NSIC Tournament. Winona State (21-10) claimed the third seed while NSIC Tournament runner-up Minot State earned the fifth seed and NSIC regular season co-champion Southwest Minnesota State (21-8) was selected sixth. MIAA Tournament champion Fort Hays State (22-9) secured the seventh seed while GAC Tournament champion Harding (22-9) was seeded ninth. MIAA regular season champion Washburn (26-3) was selected as the top seed and the host of the tournament.

2024-25 NCAA Central Region Tournament quarterfinal pairings
Quarterfinals, Saturday, March 15 – Topeka, Kan.
12:00 p.m. - No. 3 Winona State (21-10) vs. No. 6 Southwest Minnesota State (21-8) 
2:30 p.m. - No. 2 MSU Moorhead (23-8) vs. No. 7 Fort Hays State (22-9)
5:30 p.m. - No. 1 Washburn (26-3) vs. No. 8 Harding (22-9)
8:00 p.m. - No. 4 Minot State (26-9) vs. No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul (21-8)
 
Semifinals, Sunday, March 16 – Topeka, Kan.
5:00 p.m. – MSUM/FHSU winner vs Winona State/SMSU winner
7:30 p.m. – Washburn/Harding winner vs. Minot State/Concordia winner
 
Championship, Tuesday, March 18 – Topeka, Kan.
TBD - Semifinal winners

NSIC SPOTLIGHT
Concordia-St. Paul senior guard Antwan Kimmons was featured on this week's NSIC Spotlight with NSIC Assistant Commissioner Nick Kornder. To watch the full spotlight, click here.

KIMMONS' HISTORIC SEASON
In the midst of all the team success this year, senior guard Antwan Kimmons continues to put together one of the strongest individual seasons in program history. His 726 points so far this season are a program record, shattering his own record of 591 from the 2022-23 season. His 249 free throws attempted and 185 free throws made are both program records, and his 250 field goals are also a school record. His 2024-25 scoring average of 25.0 points per game is also the 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 month, he was named the NSIC Player of the Year and took home All-NSIC First Team honors for the second 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.

MINOT STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears hold an all-time record of 3-11 against the Beavers, with Concordia's last win coming on January 27, 2023. The two teams have met twice this season, with the Beavers coming away with a 92-78 victory on their home floor in January before knocking the Golden Bears out of the NSIC Tournament with a 94-85 victory over CSP in the quarterfinals last week. Last week's NSIC Tournament matchup is the lone neutral-court meeting between the two teams in the history of the series.

ABOUT THE BEAVERS
Much like the Golden Bears, Minot State is also in the midst of the most successful season in program history. The Beavers are also making their program debut in the NCAA Division II Tournament and enter the weekend with 26 overall wins, the most in a single season in school history. The team also set single-season records in points (2,824), rebounds (1,281), and 3-pointers (320) this year. Minot State's scoring average of 80.7 ranks second in the NSIC while its scoring defense ranks third in the league, with its opponents averaging 72.7 points per game.

The Beavers are led by the NSIC's leading rebounder and second-leading scorer in junior Caleb Van De Griend, who has averaged 13.1 rebounds and 20.7 rebounds per game this season. Van De Griend was named All-NSIC First Team and was the Beavers' lone all-conference selection.

After knocking out the Golden Bears in the NSIC Tournament Quarterfinals, the Beavers went on to defeat Minnesota State 72-70 in the semifinals to advance to the championship game where they fell to MSU Moorhead 78-66.

LAST MEETING WITH THE BEAVERS
When the two teams last met in the NSIC Tournament just over a week ago, the Beavers secured a 94-85 win to knock the Golden Bears out of the tournament.

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.

GOLDEN BEARS VS. THE FIELD
A total of eight teams were selected to the central region field, including five from the NSIC, two from the MIAA, and one from the GAC. Concordia, Fort Hays State, Harding, Minot State, MSU Moorhead, Southwest Minnesota State, Washburn, and Winona State each earned bids. The Golden Bears have played seven games against teams selected to the tournament this season, posting a record of 3-4 in those games.

FORT HAYS STATE
All-time series: Concordia leads 1-0
Last meeting: W, 82-68, 11/9/24

HARDING
All-time series: 0-0
Last meeting: N/A

MINOT STATE
All-time series: Minot State leads 11-3
Last meeting: L, 85.94, 3/1/25

MSU MOORHEAD
All-time series: MSU Moorhead leads 25-14
Last meeting: L, 85-92, 1/3/25

SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
All-time series: SMSU leads 33-17
Last meeting: W, 92-85, 12/7/24

WASHBURN
All-time series: 0-0
Last meeting: N/A

WINONA STATE
All-time series: Winona State leads 57-7
Last meeting: L, 73-83, 11/26/25

GOLDEN BEARS BY THE NUMBERS
Heading into the national tournament for the first time ever over the weekend, the Golden Bears will aim to continue their record-setting season.

Concordia's 2,547 points this season are a program record while it's 1,162 rebounds are also the most in school history. CSP's 16 wins in conference play are its most in program history while its 21 overall wins are tied for the most in a single season.

As a team, CSP's average of 30.2 defensive rebounds per game ranks second all of Division II while its scoring average of 87.5 points per game paces the NSIC and ranks 16th in Division II. Concordia also ranks second in the conference with 14.7 assists per game. The Golden Bears' team field goal percentage of 49.1% also paces the NSIC and is 18th in all of Division II.

Senior guard Antwan Kimmons continues to be one of the most dominant players in all of Division II, leading the NSIC and ranking fourth in the nation in points per game (25.0) while pacing the league and sitting 12th in Division II with 5.7 assists per game. With 726 points and counting this season, Kimmons has already shattered his own school record for most points in a single season.

An All-NSIC Second Team selection, senior Cade Meyer's field goal percentage of 60.3% 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.

Named All-NSIC First Team, 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 eighth in the conference with an average of 15. 0 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 (119) and started (112) in school history.