ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (12-6, 7-5 NSIC) will hit the road once again this weekend, this time heading north for Northern Sun contests at Bemidji State (6-11, 3-9 NSIC) on Friday and Minnesota Duluth (10-8, 6-6 NSIC) on Saturday.

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WATCH ONLINE - NSIC NETWORK
All Golden Bear NSIC basketball games will be available to watch online, free of charge, powered by the NSIC Network, supported by BlueFrame Technology.

Visit nsicnetwork.com/cspbears on a laptop or desktop computer, download the NSIC Network app on your mobile device, or watch on your supported OTT provider such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Search "NSIC Network" and download the app for the league's full sport and team lineups. NSIC NETWORK FAQ

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears traveled west for a pair of conference games last weekend, extending their winning streak to four with victories at Jamestown (N.D.) and Northern State (S.D.).

GAME ONE: CSP 71, UJ 69
The Golden Bears struggled to find a rhythm early in the game, shooting just 32.4% from the field in the opening half. The Jimmies led by as many as 13 points in the opening frame, but the Bears outscored them 27-16 in the final nine minutes of the half and used a buzzer-beating triple from Ben Kopetzki to cut the deficit to just two points at 37-35 going into halftime.

Concordia grabbed its first lead of the night at 40-39 with 18:08 to play on another three pointer from Kopetzki, but the Jimmies quickly regained control and pushed their lead to five at 55-50 with 9:31 on the clock. The Bears tied the game up at 58 each just over two minutes later and went on to retake the lead at 60-59 with under four minutes remaining in regulation. Three more ties and two additional lead changes followed in the final three minutes of the contest, but it was yet another clutch triple by Kopetzki with just 25 seconds remaining that put the Bears on top for what proved to be the final time with a score of 70-69. Following a Jamestown turnover, Kopetzki added a late free throw to give CSP its largest lead of the night at 71-69. The Jimmies took a timeout to draw up one final play with just five seconds on the clock, but the CSP defense came up with one final stop following the inbounds pass, forcing another Jamestown turnover to seal the come-from-behind victory.

In total, CSP spent just 1:04 of game time with the lead while the Jimmies were in front for 32:55. The Golden Bears final shooting line was 26-of-66 (39.4%) from the field and 9-of-28 (32.1%) from beyond the arc, while Jamestown finished 24-of-57 (42.1%) overall and 10-of-27 (37.0%) from deep. Concordia managed a 41-38 edge in rebounds and took better care of the ball than UJ, winning the turnover margin 13-9 and turning it into a 12-6 scoring edge in points off takeaways.

After a slow first half, guard Ben Kopetzki found a groove in the second half, knocking down six of his 10 attempts from the field, including a 3-of-5 mark from deep, for 18 points in the final 20 minutes. The junior finished the contest with 26 points and nine rebounds, leading all players in the game in both categories.

Redshirt freshman Ryan Johnson and sophomore Marcus Burks scored nine points each for CSP, also adding two and four rebounds, respectively. Johnson paced all players in the game with five assists for Concordia. Junior Jaden Wysocki added six points and four rebounds, while sophomore Owen Carlson finished with six points and three rebounds.

GAME TWO: CSP 78, NSU 73
Northern State grabbed a narrow lead early on and held it for most of the first half, leading by as many as six points at 14-8. Concordia claimed its first lead of the game at 20-19 near the midpoint of the opening half, but the Wolves quickly jumped back in front and held a slim advantage for the remainder of the period, clinging to a 40-39 lead at halftime.

The second half was a back-and-forth affair early on, containing three lead changes and four ties in the first 12 minutes. Concordia controlled the final minutes of the game, taking a 59-56 lead with 8:30 to play and never looking back. The Golden Bear lead reached as many as nine with 4:15 on the clock, with CSP fighting off every NSU comeback attempt and eventually securing the five-point win.

The Golden Bears were 23-of-58 (39.7%) from the field and 8-of-27 (29.6%) from beyond the arc in the game, while Northern State finished 24-of-60 (40%) from the field and 10-of-29 (34.5%) from deep. Concordia outrebounded NSU 42-37 and received strong contributions from its reserves, outscoring the Wolves 28-13 in bench points.

Junior Ben Kopetzki was outstanding for the Golden Bears once again, leading all players in the game with 29 points, thanks in large part to a 5-of-11 shooting line from beyond the arc, while pulling down four rebounds.

Sophomore Patrick Bath had his strongest outing thus far in a Concordia uniform, leading the effort off the bench with 12 points and nine rebounds while going a perfect 5-of-5 from the field. Redshirt freshman Ryan Johnson also scored 12 points and added seven rebounds and two assists.

Freshman Jaxon Young made his collegiate debut for Concordia in the win, contributing seven points and three rebounds in seven minutes of play. Sophomore Hudson Vaith notched a career high with nine points.

STAT SHEET STANDOUTS
Junior guard Ben Kopetzki continues to be one of the top scorers in the country this season, leading the NSIC and ranking seventh in Division II with 22.1 points per game. Kopetzki also ranks fifth in the NSIC in free throw percentage (87.9%) and eighth in three point percentage (38%).

Sophomore Owen Carlson remains one of the best three point shooters in the conference, connecting on 46.1% of his attempts from beyond the arc to rank third in the NSIC.

Senior Sam West ranks second in the NSIC with 5.2 assists per game, while also leading the league with 2.8 steals per game, a mark that would rank second in a single season in program history.

As a team, Concordia ranks fourth in the NSIC with 82.6 points per game on offense and 13^th with 80.9 points allowed per game on defense. The Golden Bears also sit third in the conference with 14.89 assists per game and rank fourth with 8.0 steals per game.

BEMIDJI STATE SERIES HISTORY
With a two-game sweep of the Beavers last season, the Golden Bears moved above .500 in the all-time series against BSU, now holding a record of 21-20 in 41 previous games. When playing in Bemidji, the Beavers hold the advantage with a 14-6 record against CSP.

Concordia has controlled the series in recent years, winning the last three meetings and five of the last six dating back to 2022.

ABOUT THE BEAVERS
The Beavers hold an overall record of 6-11 this season, including a mark of 3-9 in Northern Sun play.

Bemidji State ranks fifth in the conference with 80.8 points per game this season and paces the NSIC with a 49.3% field goal percentage. The Beavers turn the ball over more than any other team in the conference, ranking last in the NSIC with 233 turnovers and a -4.12 turnover margin.

Junior guard John Pecarich Paces the Beavers and ranks third in the conference with 19.7 points per game. Senior forward Henry Shannon III leads the Beavers and ranks third in the NSIC with a 55.9% field goal percentage, also ranking eighth in the conference with 17.9 points per game and second with 8.7 rebounds per game.

MINNESOTA DULUTH SERIES HISTORY
In 36 meetings with the Bulldogs, the Golden Bears have posted a record of 14-22, including a record of 6-12 in road games. In two games last season, the teams split the contests, with CSP claiming a 93-89 win at the Gangelhoff Center in December and the Bulldogs earning a narrow 88-87 win on their home floor in February.  

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs enter the weekend with a record of 10-8 and a 6-6 mark in conference play.

The Bulldogs boast a strong defense that holds opponents to just 72.4 points per game, the third best mark in the conference. The UMD offense ranks ninth in the NSIC with 76.9 points per game. They also limit mistakes on offense while featuring active hands on defense, leading the conference with a +2.89 turnover margin.

Junior guard Caleb Siwek leads the way for UMD's offense, ranking 19^th in the conference with 13.9 points per game. Senior forward Noah Paulson leads the league in field goal percentage at 59.0%.