ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball team (19-9, 14-8 NSIC) wrapped up its regular season schedule on Saturday afternoon at the Gangelhoff Center, pulling away late for an 87-69 victory over Minnesota State (19-11, 13-9 NSIC).

With the win, Concordia secures the third seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming NSIC Men's Basketball Tournament. The top four teams in the tournament receive first-round byes that automatically advance them to the quarterfinals at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. CSP's quarterfinals matchup, scheduled for Sunday, March 1 at 7 p.m., will be the winner of the six-seed vs. 11-seed first-round game on Wednesday evening.

The first half featured five ties and four lead changes as neither side could gain much separation. Concordia held the lead first at 4-0 following a layup from junior Ben Kopetzki and a jumper from senior Sam West, but the Mavericks managed to gain their first advantage shortly after at 7-6. Following another momentum shift that saw the Golden Bears regain the lead and hold it for nearly three minutes, a triple by the Mavericks tied the game at 14 each.

The Mavericks jumped back in front and remained there for a majority of the remainder of the half, but Concordia used a layup from West to take the lead at 32-30 with 1:32 on the clock for what proved to be the game's final lead change. Heading into the locker room, Concordia clung to a 37-34 advantage.

In the second half, however, the Golden Bears took control. After the Mavericks managed to tie the game twice early in the second half, Kopetzki drained a three pointer to put Concordia in front for the final time with 18:19 remaining in the game. CSP shot an efficient 19-of-32 (59.4%) from the floor after halftime and outscored Minnesota State 50-35 over the final 20 minutes to seal the comfortable win.

The Bears consistently attacked in the paint, finishing with 54 points inside compared to MSU's 32 points in the lane. Concordia also carved out a distinct 12-2 scoring advantage in fast break points.

Ben Kopetzki led all scorers with 26 points on 12-20 shooting, adding four rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Sam West poured in 23 points on an efficient 10-14 from the field and pulled down six rebounds, while junior Chet Kloss added 14 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks to anchor the interior. Owen Carlson and Reid Patterson rounded out CSP's starters with eight and four points, respectively.

Minnesota State was led by Malcolm Jones, who scored a team-high 21 points on 9-13 shooting and added seven rebounds. Traijan Sain chipped in 12 points and three assists, while Phoenix Childs contributed 10 points and eight rebounds.

CSP's defensive effort was evident throughout, as they totaled six blocks and nine steals while turning the Mavericks over 12 times.

Minnesota State shot 24-77 (31.2%) from the field and 6-32 (18.8%) from three-point range, while CSP finished 35-65 (53.8%) from the field and knocked down six three-pointers.

The game marked the final home games in the careers of two CSP seniors, as Sam West and Reid Patterson will now look to extend their collegiate careers in the conference tournament.

Next weekend in Sioux Falls, Concordia will seek its first NSIC Tournament victory since February 22, 2017 when the eight-seeded Golden Bears knocked off the top-seeded MSU Moorhead Dragons in a first-round stunner.