Nov. 20, 2010 - Another asset of the 2010-11 Concordia-Chicago men's basketball team was on display tonight as the Cougars opened their home schedule with a battle against Blackburn College on Day two of the annual River Forest Classic. A total of 21 players saw action for the maroon and gold tonight, and the Cougars built upon a big early lead and rolled to a 100-63 victory.
"We feel very good about the depth we have at our disposal," said head coach Tyler Jones. "We have so many guys we can plug in and not miss a beat, and that was very evident this evening."
Justin Hineman (Hartland, WI/Arrowhead) got the Cougars started with five points including a three-point play off an offensive rebound as the home team raced out to a 13-2 lead in just over five minutes. Concordia established an up-tempo game in the early minutes behind the play of Deontay Young (Chicago, IL/Lincoln Park) and Larrell Gary (Chicago, IL/Whitney Young). The Cougars scored 14 points on the fast break in the first half and were able to sustain the pace behind the play of their reserves, particularly Devin Pankey (Inkster, MI/Romulus) who hit all three of his first-half shots.
Concordia finished the half with a 51-24 lead, thanks in large part to a blistering 61 percent shooting attack on 20-33. On the other end of the floor, the Cougars held the Beavers to just 8-26 for 31 percent.
The Cougars were never challenged in the second half but instead pushed their lead higher. Their first 30-point lead came midway through the half on a basket by Jeff Weberg (Rockford, IL/Lutheran). Later, Concordia used a 15-1 run, keyed by a Ryan Tyszkiewicz (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook) three, to build their advantage to 96-55. Freshmen Alphonso Dunbar (Bellwood, IL/Walther Lutheran) and Julian Williams (Evanston, IL/Loyola Academy) added the final two baskets of the night, Williams' jumper with 1:01 left putting the Cougars over the century mark. All in all, the Cougars' bench contributed 32 points to the team's third straight win out of the gates this season.
Gary led all five Concordia starters in double figures, knocking down eight of 12 shots en route to a 17-point effort. Weberg hit 6-9 from the field for 15 points, and Young followed with 14 points and a game-high nine assists.James Morgan (Cedar Rapids, IA/Kennedy) had seven rebounds to go with his 11 points in helping the Cougars to a 46-34 advantage on the glass.
Concordia will host Lakeland College on Tuesday night in the opening of Northern Athletics Conference play.
