Dec. 7, 2011 - A closing 13-2 rally over the final five minutes enabled the Concordia Cougars to slip past the Benedictine Eagles tonight in men's basketball action at Geiseman Gymnasium. The 72-69 win pushed Concordia to 2-5 overall for the season and 2-2 in the Northern Athletics Conference.
Both teams' offenses took a few minutes to get started before Justin Hineman (Hartland, WI/Arrowhead) netted a jumper at the 16:26 mark for the first two points of the game. Benedictine eventually got on track by way of the three ball as Mark Pace hit one from long range and Dario Jokic swished two to give the Eagles a 9-6 lead.
Benedictine led by as many as six points in the half before Concordia charged back. Al Kahlfeldt (New Berlin, WI/Eisenhower) scored from outside the arc to put the Cougars up 24-21 at the 3:08 mark. However, the Eagles stayed with the long-range game as Matt Mackowiak and Pace connected to put the visitors back into the lead. Benedictine's 7-13 shooting from three-point range was the key stat on the first-half scoresheet that showed the Eagles leading 33-29.
The Cougars came out strong to start the second half. Hineman hit a jumper and Charles Gordon (Chicago, IL/Lane Tech) scored twice to give Concordia a brief two-point lead. However, Benedictine recovered and scored the next six points, giving them a lead they would hold for most of the second half.
The Eagles extended their lead to eight points midway through the half and still led by eight at the 4:50 mark on Andy Crutchfield's layup. However, that would be Benedictine's final field goal of the night as Concordia got to work. The comeback began innocuously enough as Khirey Floyd (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park-River Forest) split a pair of free throws at 4:02. The defense then made a strong stand, forcing a low-percentage three shot (the Eagles shot just 2-12 on threes in the second half). Gordon then muscled inside for a basket and was fouled. The senior converted the free throw for the three-point play, bringing the Cougars witin 67-63.
Hineman came up with a steal on the defensive end which resulted in Issa Avery's (Evanston, IL/St. Benedict) three on the other end. Yet another turnover followed as the Cougars forced the Eagles into a five-second violation on the inbounds. Avery missed a three on the ensuing possession, but Hineman captured the offensive rebound. The ball eventually made its way back to Avery, and his jumper from just inside the free throw line gave Concordia a 68-67 lead as an excited home crowd roared its approval.
Jamison Montgomery split a pair of free throws to tie the score with 2:08 remaining. An offensive foul then gave Benedictine a chance to regain the lead, but Montgomery's missed shot was rebounded by Avery as he was fouled by Pace. The foul was Pace's fifth, and the Eagles' leading scorer at 21 points was sent to the bench for the final 1:51. Avery sank both free throws to make the score Cougars 70, Eagles 68.
Avery continued to excel in the clutch as he stole the ball and later scored in the lane with 1:10 left for a huge insurance basket. Montgomery cut one point off the lead with a free throw at the 56-second mark. Then, following a miss by Avery after they worked the shot clock down, the Eagles had one final chance at a tie game. The Cougars' defense rose to the occasion one more time as they pressured Montgomery at the top of the key. The ball was poked loose and picked up by Floyd who dribbled out the final few seconds.
While Avery provided the clutch baskets down the stretch and finished with 23 points, Gordon's contribution was equally big. Gordon led all scorers with 24 points (8-13 FG, 8-12 FT), 20 in the second half to keep the Eagles from running away midway through the half.
Pace led the Eagles (3-3, 2-1 NAC) with 21 points, followed by Crutchfield's 13 and Montgomery's 10. Benedictine won the battle of the boards 41-32 led by Crutchfield's eight. However, Concordia forced the visitors into 19 turnovers while committing just 13 themselves.
The Cougars will look for win number three Saturday afternoon when they play at Lakeland College.
