Huskies host Golden Bears in Monday showdown

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - It seems like 84 years since St. Cloud State University men's basketball team last took the court in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play. After a nearly three week hiatus, the Huskies return to the court on Monday to host Concordia-St. Paul in a nonconference showdown at 6:00 p.m.

This will be St. Cloud State's first game since December 18, as the team's last three conference contests were cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols. Per NSIC policy, Monday's game against the Golden Bears will not count as a conference game, but rather the chance for the Huskies to get some game action in before this weekend's NSIC games at Upper Iowa and Winona State.

Tip off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. in Halenbeck Hall. All fans must wear masks to Monday night's game and all future St. Cloud State athletic events, in compliance with the University's COVID-19 policy. This will apply to all fans ages three and older regardless of vaccination status.

Live stats, video and two radio broadcasts will be available for fans who cannot make the trek to Halenbeck Hall. Score updates will also be made to the team's official Twitter account (@SCSUHUSKIES_MBB) when possible.

Here are the five things to know before Monday's tip off:

1013 - Anthony Roberts (Chicago, Ill. / Oak Park) has become a well known name amongst Division II basketball circles. He has led the Huskies in scoring in seven games and has scored 20+ points in five of the team's 13 games this season. It comes as no surprise, then, that Roberts became the 44th student-athlete in program history to join the 1000 points club in the win over Northern State on December 18. Roberts 29 point effort not only helped him eclipse the 1000 point threshold, but also secured the 84-80 win for St. Cloud State, its first over the Wolves since February of 2019.

2019 - It hasn't been all that long since the Huskies played Monday night basketball. In fact, St. Cloud State's last Monday night game occurred on December 2, 2019, when the team traveled to Minnesota-Duluth to open NSIC play. The Huskies lost their conference opener 95-74 and have not played a Monday game since.

8 - St. Cloud State is 8-2 in its last 10 meetings with Concordia-St. Paul, scoring an average of 89.1 points in the eight wins. In fact, the Huskies swept their nonconference series with the Golden Bears last season, winning game one 93-85 before earning a key 77-73 victory in game two. Due to the conference's COVID-19 protocols, the wins did not count to St. Cloud State's NSIC record, but it spurred a key win streak for the Huskies, who won five of their last eight games to qualify for the conference tournament.

756 - Roberts isn't the only scoring fiend for St. Cloud State this season. Fellow junior guard Caleb Donaldson (Bloomington, Ill. / Bloomington) surpassed the 750 career points threshold in the win over Northern State and stands at 756 total in his career. Donaldson currently leads the Huskies with a .683 shooting percentage and ranks second in scoring (16.5), having scored 215 total points in 13 games.

79.9/80.1 - Fans can expect a high-scoring affair in Halenbeck Hall Monday night, as the Huskies score a lot of points. St. Cloud State ranks fourth in the conference thanks to its 81.2 points per game average. However, the Huskies and Golden Bears struggle on the defensive side of the ball. While St. Cloud State scores a lot of points, it also gives up a lot of points on defense, ranking second to last in scoring defense by allowing 79.9 points per game. Concordia-St. Paul, though, ranks lower, as the Golden Bears defense gives up an average of 80.1 points per game this season.