MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's basketball team dropped a nonconference game to Concordia College, 83-69, Monday night in Morris, Minn.
 
The Cobbers remain undefeated at 5-0, while the Cougars fall to 3-6.
 
Matt Thompson opened the scoring with a three-pointer off a pass from Gustav Gunderson. Concordia then began to pull away with eight unanswered points. Gunderson stopped the run with a layup and converted the ensuing free throw to complete a three-point play. LeRoy Staples-Fairbanks IV knocked down a three to cut the lead to three, but Concordia answered with seven straight points. Thomas Tiernan and Carvin Fish added a three-pointer and a layup, respectively, to keep UMM close. A brief run by the Cobbers and some traded baskets down the stretch gave CC a 36-24 lead at halftime.
 
Kaden Pieper scored first in the second half with a layup, followed by two free throws from Fish to bring the deficit back to single digits. After several exchanges, Concordia pushed its lead to 16 five minutes into the half, and extended it to 20 shortly after. Jang Dak ended the run with a layup assisted by Gunderson, and Staples-Fairbanks followed with a three. Trailing by 22, the Cougars began to rally with three-pointers from Dak and Staples-Fairbanks. In the final five minutes, Staples-Fairbanks, Tiernan, and Thompson all connected from deep to cut the deficit to 13. Tiernan came up with a steal and scored a layup to bring the margin to 10. However, the late push was not enough, and Concordia held on for the 83-69 win.
 
Four Cougars reached double figures, led by Thompson with 13 points. Staples-Fairbanks added 12, while Fish and Pieper each scored 10. As a team, UMM shot 38 percent from the field, 30.6 percent from three, and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line. Gunderson led the team with five assists.
 
Defensively, Fish grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, and Thompson added six. The Cougars recorded three steals and three blocks.
 
Minnesota Morris continues its homestand Saturday when they host Oak Hills Christian College at 1 p.m.