Nov. 18, 2011 - Day one of the annual River Forest Classic for men's basketball took place at Dominican University this evening. The Cougars took on the University of Wisconsin/Whitewater in the opening game. Concordia gave a rugged effort against their opponents, but baskets were very hard to come by over the entire 40 minutes. Whitewater prevailed by a 56-37 score, dropping Concordia to 0-2 on the young season.
Charles Gordon (Chicago, IL/Lane Tech) had the early hot hand, scoring the Cougars' first six points. Khirey Floyd (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park-River Forest) added a three to pull the Cougars within 10-9. However, the Warhawks then scored the next 12 points, capitalizing on a series of Cougar turnovers. Strong inside play also carried UWW with the Warhawks holding an 11-6 advantage on the glass midway through the half.
Jacob Oakley's (Sun Prairie, WI/H.S.) two free throws at the 5:46 mark ended the Cougars' scoreless draught. Concordia began to force some turnovers by UWW, but they continued to struggle offensively. The Cougars finished the half just 6-23 from the field despite Issa Avery (Evanston, IL/St. Benedict) banking in a halfcourt three-pointer at the buzzer, and Concordia went to the locker room trailing 30-17.
The rebounds and turnover stats told the story of the half. Concordia was guilty of 12 turnovers and collected just 11 rebounds to UWW's 22. However, the Warhawks committed 10 turnovers and shot 0-9 from three-point range.
Floyd's three early in the second half drew Concordia to within 11 points, but that would be followed by a scoreless stretch of seven minutes before Al Kahlfeldt (New Berlin, WI/Eisenhower) connected on a three from the right wing. A couple of baskets by UWW's Chris Davis followed, and Concordia trailed 45-24 with 9:22 remaining. They would get no closer than the final 19-point margin.
The Cougars finished with just 28 percent shooting on 14 of 51 while the Warhawks shot 47 percent on 22-47. However, the Warhawks were 21-35 (60 percent) inside the three-point arc and just 1-12 from outside. Concordia lost the battle of the boards 41-24, but Whitewater finished with more turnovers, 21 to 17.
Avery and Gordon each scored nine points to lead the Cougars while Floyd tallied seven. The Warhawks (1-0) were led by Chris Davis with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Concordia will make its home floor debut Saturday night at 6:00 when they host the University of Dubuque. That game is preceded by Dominican versus UW/Whitewater at 4:00.
