St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball Drops Regular Season Finale on the Road

Saturday, February 24

St. Paul, Minn.

5:30 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

12-16,8-14NSIC

Concordia-St. Paul

10-18,5-17NSIC

St. Cloud St.

Concordia-St. Paul

Photo by: Jacob Sanders

St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball Drops Regular Season Finale on the Road

2/25/2024 2:36:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score NSIC Tournament Page

Huskies fall to CSP, 78-72, in marathon that saw 52 fouls called and 74 free throws attempted

ST. PAUL, Minn. – St. Cloud State Men's Basketball (12-16 overall, 8-14 NSIC) dropped its second game in a row on the road to Concordia-St. Paul, 78-72 on Saturday night at the Gangelhoff Center.

The Huskies got off to a strong start, and led by seven, six minutes into the game after a dunk by graduate student Luke Taylor (Germantown, Wis.). SCSU held the lead until the 5:04 mark of the half after a 7-0 CSP run was capped off by a three pointer, giving them a 26-24 advantage. The lead changed three more times before halftime and the Huskies carried a 33-32 lead into the locker room.

Freshmen Jamiir Allen (Milwaukee) and senior Matt Willert (Buffalo, Minn.) led the Huskies through the first 20 minutes with eight and seven points respectively. Both teams made 11 first half field goals and were even throughout the stat sheet, validating the close score.

SCSU held its lead until the 18:10 mark when a pair of Golden Bear free throws gave them the lead. The Huskies didn't lead again. There were 36 fouls called in the second half leading to 57 free throws being attempted. Both teams shot 66.7% from the line in the second half – SCSU was 18-of-27 and CSP was 20-of-30 – so the Bears were able to hold onto their lead and earn the senior night victory.

Concordia-St. Paul (10-18, 5-17 NSIC) put five players in double figures – Sean Mathieu (19), Ben Kopetzki (15), Chet Closs (12), DJ Akpati (11) and Ian Sluice (10) while Will Boser (9) was one point shy.

Both squads made more free throws than field goals (SCSU – 20 FGs / 26 FTs | CSP – 22 FGs / 25 FTs)

The Huskies, who are the No. 12 seed, will look to go on the road and upset No. 5 seed Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

TOP HUSKIES

Allen scored a team-high 15 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out two assists.
Freshman Nate Dahl (Buffalo, Minn.) scored 12 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds while tallying two assists and two steals.
Willert finished with nine points, five rebounds and three assists.

NOTABLES

The Huskies are now 26-8 all-time against Concordia-St. Paul after the loss and split the season series.
SCSU led the game in free throw percentage (72.2-65.8), free throws (26-25), total rebounds (14-32—46 – 8-35—43), points in the paint (28-22), second chance points (21-7) and bench points (23-20).
CSP led in field goal percentage (40.7-31.7), three-point percentage (39.1-24.0), field goals (22-20), three-pointers (9-6), assists (14-12), steals (9-8), points off turnovers (17-15) and fast break points (9-2).
Both teams recorded one block.
SCSU tied season highs for free throws (26) and rebounds (46).
Allen set career highs in field goal attempts (19), three pointers (three – tie) and rebounds (eight). Games this season with 15+ points: five, 3+ three-pointers: three (two straight) and 2+ assists: 13.
Dahl set career highs in free throws (nine) and free throw attempts (16) and tied his career high in rebounds (nine). Games this season with 12+ points: three (two straight), 9+ rebounds: three, 2+ assists: nine (six of last eight) and 2+ steals: three (two consecutive).
Willert tied his season high for assists (three). Games this season with 9+ points: 13, 5+ rebounds: 10 and 3+ assists: two.
Freshman Anish Ramlall (Rosemount, Minn.) posted eight points and three rebounds. Games this season with 8+ points: 14 and 3+ rebounds: 12 (two straight).
Freshman Vance Peiffer (Waukee, Iowa) tallied eight points and four rebounds. He tied his career high in free throws (four). Games this season with 8+ points: seven and 4+ rebounds 11.
Graduate student Craig Steele (Portage, Wis.) scored eight points. He set Husky career-highs in free throws (three) and free throws attempted (three) and recorded his first steal as a Husky. He is a perfect 5-of-5 from the line this year. Games this season with 8+ points: two.
Freshman Wyatt Hawks (White Bear Lake, Minn.) scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds. Games this season with 6+ points: 16 (eight of nine) and 7+ rebounds: 11 (six of eight).

UP NEXT
The Huskies travel to play Southwest Minnesota State in a First Round NSIC Tournament game on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the R/A Facility in Marshall. Live coverage will be available on the NSIC Network and The Varsity Network with live stats being provided by SMSU. Links to each coverage option will be available on the SCSU Men's Basketball schedule page.

NSIC MBB Tournament Homepage

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Basketball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.