Sioux Falls, SD. – Business is done at the MSU Dome. Now, it is time to move over to the Sanford Pentagon for the rest of the NSIC Tournament.

The Minot State men's basketball team is looking for more than just an appearance. They want to make noise, and it begins with a Quarterfinal duel against the Concordia St. Paul Golden Bears.

Minot State (24-8) will meet up with NSIC regular-season champion Concordia St. Paul (21-7) on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

This is the second time in the 2024-25 stretch (both regular and postseason) that the Beavers will face off against the Bears. It will be a rematch from January 24, where Minot State found a winning result against CSP. The final score was 92-78 at the MSU Dome as the Beavers are determined to repeat those efforts. While this may be the 14^th meeting all-time, it also happens to be the first such case that the Beavers see the Bears in NSIC Tournament play.

Concordia St. Paul finished the regular season with 21 wins. As a result of having tied the most wins in the conference (16), the Golden Bears won a share of the regular season title. They punched their ticket to the Pentagon following their final game on the road without the need for a first-round game.

The Golden Bears finished strong with a 2-game winning streak to close out regular season play.

Concordia St. Paul will be a tougher test than Sioux Falls as the Beavers will have their hands full. They must deal with NSIC Player of the Year Antwan Kimmons. Despite being held in check with 11 points against Minot last time, Kimmons has earned his stripes with a daunting 24.7 PPG average. Along with that, the Bears carry an abundance of talent that complement Kimmons nicely. 3 other starters average 14.0 PPG or more. Going to battle with Kimmons is Marcus Skeete (15.2 PPG, NSIC First Team), Ben Kopetzki (14.2 PPG & 7.8 RPG), and Cade Meyer (14.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG, NSIC Second Team). Those are players to watch on Concordia's side of the court.

Minot State did their part in handling the Golden Bears back on January 24 but will have to do it again in a second encounter and at higher stakes. The Beaver starters can also score at a high level with all five of them returning to double-digit PPG averages. Leading the way and making that unit click is Caleb Van De Griend now with an added NSIC First-Team tag. The Bridgetown, Australia Junior maintains a double-double pace with 20.6 PPG and 13.0 RPG. Then you get to the guards, where Jalen Cook (13.7 PPG) and Ayouba Berthe (13.3 PPG) also have a big scoring impact. Another player that stepped up for the Beavers at the start of the postseason was Sam West, who added 17 points against Sioux Falls. He enters with 10.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 4.4 APG.

The winner of this Quarterfinal contest moves on to the Semifinals against the winner between Minnesota State-Mankato and St. Cloud State on Monday. Tip-off will take place at 4:30 p.m.