Jan. 20, 2011 - Fresh off an exciting two-point win at Aurora Tuesday night, the Concordia Cougars looked for two in a row this evening as they took on Rockford College. The two teams engaged in an exciting battle, but the difference in this game was the play of Rockford's Robert Malone. The 6'5" senior forward scored 40 points, 26 coming in the second half to lead the Regents to a 75-73 win.
The Cougars had the three ball working in the early going. Jacob O'Hara (Sheffield Village, OH/Lutheran West) and Jeff Weberg (Rockford, IL/Lutheran) found the range from outside, and Deontay Young (Chicago, IL/Lincoln Park) knocked down three free throws after being fouled on his three attempt. However, with the game tied at 13-13, threes by Rockford's Dominique Walker and Taylor Stinson put the hosts in front.
Rockford maintained the lead until the final minutes of the half. Charles Gordon (Chicago, IL/Lane Tech) slipped inside for a couple of layups, and Young converted a three-point play with 28.7 seconds left to give Concordia a 32-31 advantage at the break.
The stat sheet showed the two teams virtually even in the main categories except for Rockford having a 17-14 edge on the glass. Malone had a huge first half with 14 points and nine rebounds. Concordia's scoring was extremely spread out with O'Hara and Young leading the way with six points each. Gordon was Concordia's leading rebounder with five.
The second half opened with Rockford getting into quick foul trouble. Concordia took the ball to the hole and drew six fouls within the first four minutes. Hineman and Gordon scored inside to keep pressure on the Regents' defense. Meanwhile, Rockford returned to the three-point shot with leading scorer Malone as the focus. Malone nailed three shots from well behind the arc, and the hosts grabbed their largest lead at nine.
Concordia fought back as Larrell Gary (Chicago, IL/Whitney Young) hit a two and a three. The Cougars caught the Regents at 71-71 on Gordon's two free throws with 2:27 left. Malone gave Rockford back the lead with another long three from the right side, but Gary's jumper made it a one-point game with 1:06 remaining. The Cougars' defense then came through by taking a charge from Malone, and they called time to set their strategy with 37.7 seconds left.
With 10 seconds left, O'Hara had a good luck at a three from the top of the key. His shot bounced high off the back of the rim, and Malone skied above two Cougars to capture the rebound. He was fouled but made just one of two free throws, giving Concordia one final chance with 4.6 seconds left, down two points. The Cougars came quickly downcourt, but Weberg was forced into an off-balance three from the right side that was off-target as the buzzer sounded.
Malone shot 14-21 from the field including an unbelievable 8-10 from behind the arc to finish with 40 points. The Regents shot 50 percent both from three-point range (14-28) and overall (27-54).
Concordia was led by Young's 17 points (5-9 FG, 2-3 3FG, 5-6 FT) and four assists. Weberg shot 5-8 to score 12 points, and Gary was 5-9 from the field for 11 points. However, the Cougars as a team were just 27 of 58 from the field (47 percent).
The Cougars (7-7, 2-6 NAC) return to action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Wisconsin to take on Marian University.
