SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Despite facing a 17-point deficit late in the first half, the Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (17-8, 12-7 NSIC) rallied in the second half for a 94-84 win over the University of Sioux Falls (12-13, 9-10 NSIC) on Thursday evening at the Stewart Center.

Concordia has now won four straight games against the Cougars, including a regular-season sweep in each of the last two seasons. CSP has also won four of its last five games and nine of the last 11 in a stretch dating back to January 9. 

Junior Ben Kopetzki led the charge for Concordia with 23 points on 9-18 shooting, also adding six assists and four rebounds.

Senior Reid Patterson came within a point of his season high, scoring 22 off the bench on an efficient 9-12 shooting line to go along with three rebounds. Fellow senior Sam West was also highly efficient as usual, knocking down five of his six attempts from the field for 13 points to go along with six assists and four rebounds.

Junior Jaden Wysocki scored 11 points and pulled down five rebounds, while sophomore Owen Carlson added 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Chet Kloss rounded out the starters for Concordia and neared a double-double with nine points, three blocks, and a team-leading eight rebounds.

The Golden Bears got off to a slow start in the first half as the Cougars built an early 13-7 advantage. Concordia found its first real spark of the night at that point as it put together an 8-0 scoring run over the next three minutes to take the lead for the first time at 15-13.

From there, the momentum flipped once again, with the Cougars going on an extended 25-6 scoring run covering nearly seven minutes to take a commanding 17-point lead at 38-21 with 5:41 remaining in the half. The trend of heavy momentum shifts continued, with Concordia closing the half on a 19-6 run that saw them cut the deficit to just four points at 44-40 at the intermission.

A three-ball from Carlson and a fastbreak layup by West off a steal by Carlson less than a minute into the period gave the Golden Bears a hot start in the second half, quickly putting them on top 45-43. The teams jockeyed for positioning in the following minutes, with three ties and nine lead changes in the first 10 minutes of the half.

Concordia took control of the contest down the stretch, gaining the lead for the final time on another triple by Carlson with 9:57 to play and never looking back. The advantage ballooned quickly, reaching its peak with CSP leading by 15 points with six minutes remaining, with the Golden Bears coasting to the double-digit victory.

For the game, Concordia shot 57.1% (36-63) overall and 43.3% (13-30) from beyond the arc, while Sioux Falls shot at a 45.9% (28-61) clip with a 33.3% (9-27) performance from deep.  

Turnovers were an issue for both teams as Concordia gave the ball away 19 times and Sioux Falls turned it over 18 times. CSP proved slightly more effective in capitalizing on USF's mistakes, however, outscoring the Cougars 24-19 in points off turnovers. Led by a strong evening from Patterson, CSP's reserves played a vital role in the win, outscoring USF's bench 28-9 to give Concordia a major advantage.

The Cougars were led by Brogan Madson with a game-high 24 points, while Kyle Ingwerson trailed just behind with 22 points.

CSP will now head to Marshall, Minn., for a matchup with Southwest Minnesota State (15-9, 13-6 NSIC) on Saturday, with tip-off scheduled for 4 p.m.