Jan. 29, 2011 - In one of the toughest Concordia Invitational Tournament men's fields in recent years, with all four teams entering the weekend having winning records, the Cougars of Concordia University Chicago emerged victorious by defeating the host Cardinals of Concordia Ann Arbor by a 72-63 score.

 

After the Cougars defeated Concordia Nebraska on Friday night to claim their place in the title game, Cougar head coach Tyler Jones had referred to that win as the biggest in his three years with the program. Following Saturday's game, he expanded that claim to include the entire weekend. "These two games were 80 minutes of guts. The intensity level was immense, and getting these two wins the way we did was very important to us."

 

The Cardinals, who shot 13-21 from three-point range in their win over Concordia Wsiconsin on Friday night. started out Saturday's game with a three by Marius Williams. But layups by Charles Gordon (Chicago, IL/Lane Tech) and Deontay Young (Chicago, IL/Lincoln Park), followed by two Larrell Gary (Chicago, IL/Whitney Young) helped the Cougars to an 8-3 lead and the first wave of momentum.

 

The maroon and gold held the lead until about the midway point of the half when baskets by reserve guard Thomas Lovachis sparked a Cardinals' surge. Chad McMullen hit a couple of threes as the hosts came back to take a seven-point lead (28-21) with 3:20 remaining in the half. However, the Cougars fought back over the final minutes behind threes by Gary and Weberg. Justin Hineman (Hartland, WI/Arrowhead) added a pair of baskets, and Tony Kay (Walnut, IL/Bureau Valley) hit two free throws with 33 seconds left to send the two teams into the half tied at 33-33.

 

The second half of play saw both teams treat the packed gymnasium to some thrilling, back-and-forth action. The lead exchanged hands several times with neither team leading by more than three points for the first 15 minutes. Cardinals' forward Rocko Holmes, who had a huge game with 27 points and 13 rebounds, gave the hosts their final lead at 55-54 with a basket, but Gary's jumper with 6:55 remaining put the Cougars in front to stay. After the Cardinals missed on two free throws, Young followed with a jumper for a three-point lead. Holmes answered back with a bucket, but Young drilled a three moments later for a 61-57 lead at the 4:58 mark.

 

Ann Arbor cut the lead down to two points again, but sophomore Al Kahlfeldt (New Berlin, WI/Eisenhower) stepped up to deliver his only points of the game, a three from the left side to give Chicago its biggest lead of the game at 64-59. From that point, the Cougars answered all of the Cardinals' scores with accurate free throw shooting, and they would celebrate minutes later with the school's first CIT men's title since 1998.

 

Point guard Young locked up the men's Most Valuable Player award for the weekend with a 15-point, 8-rebound second half. He finished the game with a team-leading 19 points and 11 rebounds, his first double-double of the season, and his 19 points put him within 16 of the 1,000-point level for his career.

 

Jeff Weberg (Rockford, IL/Lutheran) joined Young on the All-Tournament team, adding 15 points on 6-11 shooting from the field. Weberg's effort followed a team-leading 22-point effort in the win against Concordia Nebraska on Friday.

 

Also in double figures for the Cougars were Gary with a 13-point game (6-9 shooting) and Hineman with 12 points on 6-11 shooting. The Cougars shot just over 50 percent from the field for the game on 27 of 53.

 

After the game, Jones reflected on the specialness of the weekend for his seniors. "The window of opportunity to win at CIT is so small, just four years - less if you're a transfer. It's not easy to win here, this is just Concordia's first title since 1998. I just feel so good for our team right now and especially our seniors for whom this was their last chance. Now they're a part of the history of this great tournament, and this team will always be in the records for having achieved this honor."