TOPEKA, KS — Caleb Van De Griend secured a double-double with 28 points and 12 rebounds, but the Minot State men’s basketball team fell to the Concordia St. Paul Golden Bears 83-71 at Lee Arena Saturday. In addition to Van De Griend’s team-leading output, the Beavers (26-10) also saw Ayouba Berthe and Jalen Cook reach double-figures in scoring with 13 and 12 points each, respectively. Minot State had five blocks in the contest, led by Van De Griend’s four.

After jumping out to an 8-6 advantage, Minot State went on a 6-0 run with 16:49 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Cook, to increase its lead to 14-6. The Beavers then surrendered that lead and entered halftime down 45-42. Concordia St. Paul kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 69-56 advantage before Minot State went on a 7-0 run to shrink the deficit to 69-63 with 6:27 to go in the contest. Concordia St. Paul responded and outscored the Beavers the rest of the way, winning 83-71. With the loss, Minot State men’s basketball team’s season comes to an end. The Beavers, led by head coach Matt Murken, made the program’s first trip to both the championship game of the NSIC tournament and NCAA Division II National Tournament.