MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State men's basketball team defeated the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears 93-68 Saturday afternoon at Taylor Center.

With the win, the Mavericks improve to 8-2 on the season, including a 5-0 record in NSIC play. With the loss, the Golden Bears fall to 1-10, including a 0-5 conference record.

The Mavericks started the first half with a 12-4 run thanks to an efficient offense as four different players scored in the early going. Avan Ward hit a pair of back-to-back three pointers for the Golden Bears to bring them back within two points with 13:45 remaining in the first half. Coming out of the media timeout sophomore Kevin Krieger drilled a midrange jumper off a screen to get Minnesota State's offense back on the board. With the Mavericks holding a 19-13 lead, freshman Jamal Nixon stole the ball on the Golden Bears' end and took it coast to coast for a contested layup to extend the Minnesota State lead.  

Coming out of the second media timeout with 8:50 remaining in the first half, the Mavericks once again ran a successful inbounds play on a screen that got sophomore Cameron Kirksey to the basket to get a pair of free throw shots, where he made one to give Minnesota State a 24-17 lead. A block by Kirksey on a driving Bryndan Matthews led to a fast break three-point make by senior Chris Kendrix. Both teams traded baskets down the stretch before Kendrix was fouled on a three-point make late in the half. After converting the free throw to complete the four-point play, he then hit another three pointer at the buzzer to give the Mavericks a 40-29 lead going into the locker room. 
 
Minnesota State held the advantage in shooting percentage in the first half making 50% of its attempts compared to 44.8% from Concordia-St. Paul. Kendrix tied for the lead in scoring with 13 points that Matthews matched for the Golden Bears.  

Kendrix got the second half scoring started making a pair of free throws for the Mavericks to extend their lead to 42-29 with 18:12 remaining in the second half. Minnesota State would then go on a 22-12 run to give it a 64-41 advantage with 9:32 remaining in the second half.  

Junior Carlos Anderson made a big impact off the bench scoring 15-points in the second half on only five shot attempts from the field, making 6-6 free throws. The Mavericks were ultimately able to extend their lead in the final minutes of the game to earn the win 93-68.

Minnesota State held the final advantage in shooting for the game making 50.8% of their shots compared to 50% for Concordia-St. Paul, while also holding the advantage in rebounds 38-27.  Kendrix led the Mavericks in scoring with a season-high 17 points and Anderson finished with 15 points off the bench while Ward scored 27 points for the Golden Bears.  

Minnesota State returns to action this Tuesday at Taylor Center as it hosts Waldorf. Tip-off is set for 12:00 p.m.

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