ST. PAUL, Minn. --- The Minnesota State men's basketball team wrapped up the 2018 calendar year in fine form Sunday evening as it bested Concordia-St. Paul 92-60.

With the win, MSU improves to 9-3 on the season, including a 5-1 NSIC record. With the loss, CSP drops to 5-7 on the season, including a 0-6 conference record. MSU has now won its last 10 outings against the Golden Bears.

The first 10 minutes of the opening half saw a couple of lead changes but the Mavericks held the lead the majority of the way leading up to the 10 minute media timeout. Six Mavericks reached the scoring column in the opening 10 minutes, including junior Juwan McCloud who netted six points and passed out two assists. 

Leading 19-17, the Mavericks put together an 8-0 run, which included two baskets from junior Cameron Kirksey, to go up 27-17 with 8:05 to go in the half. The Golden Bears managed to get back within eight points of the Mavericks at 33-25 with 4:08 to go in the half, but MSU would end the half on an 11-4 run to take a 44-29 lead into halftime.

Eight of the nine Mavericks to enter the game reached the scoring column in the first half, including senior Carlos Anderson who led the MSU offense with 11 points and four rebounds. As a team, MSU enjoyed a 23-18 advantage in rebounds. The Mavericks also took advantage of their trips to the free throw line as they connected on all eight of their attempts.

Bryndan Matthews led the Golden Bear offense in the first half with 13 points and seven rebounds. As a team, CSP shot 40% from the field in the first half.

The Mavericks opened up the second half on a 9-3 run to go 54-32 with 17:02 left in the second, and they would not look back from there as they outscored the Golden Bears 48-31 in the second half, en route to securing a 92-60 win.

A total of 10 Mavericks recorded at least one basket in their win over CSP including Kirksey who led MSU with 16 points and three blocks. Carlos Anderson notched 15 points and five rebounds as well, while sophomore Frankie Mack added 13 points and a team-best seven rebounds off the bench. Freshman Quincy Anderson added 10 points, while freshman Tre Baumgardner posted nine points and a team-leading six assists.

As a team, MSU shot 33-of-73 (.452) from the field, including a 14-of-32 (.438) showing from three point land. MSU also passed out 18 assists and tallied 29 points off of 19 CSP turnovers.

Matthews led all scorers with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Lee Higgins added 10 points and seven rebounds. As a team, CSP shot 39.7% from the field.

The Mavericks open the 2019 calendar year with a pair of road games beginning on Friday at Minot State. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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