Feb. 3, 2011 - Neither the big snow of 2011 nor the Wisconsin Lutheran Warriors could stop the Concordia Cougar men's basketball team from posting their fifth straight victory tonight. The Cougars led from the opening basket of the game and posted an 83-70 win at Geiseman Gymnasium.
A three-point play by
Charles Gordon (Chicago, IL/Lane Tech) helped the Cougars to a fast start, and Concordia roared to an 11-2 lead before five minutes had elapsed. The home team's lead reached double figures midway through the half on a three by
Ryan Tyszkiewicz (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook). The Cougars' lead stayed in the teens for the remainder of the half, and the margin was 36-22 at the break.
The Cougars shot 50 percent for the half, but it was the defense that told the story. Wisconsin Lutheran shot just 8-25 from the field and, more revealing, 1-9 from three-point range. Concordia also controlled the boards by a 21-14 margin with 10 different Cougars grabbing at least one rebound.
The pace of the second half slowed to a crawl as both teams combined for 29 fouls. However, 16-21 free-throw shooting enabled the Cougars to maintain a safe lead, and their shooting from the field was solid at 14-27.
Larrell Gary (Chicago, IL/Whitney Young) came on strong after halftime, scoring all 14 of his points on 5-7 shooting including a couple of threes.
The Warriors got as close as seven points (58-51) with 9:39 remaining. However,
Devin Pankey (Inkster, MI/Romulus) stemmed the tide with a three-point play and added a fast-break layup moments later. Pankey finished with a season-high 11 points on 4-7 from the field and 3-3 at the line.
Jeff Weberg (Rockford, IL/Lutheran) led the Cougars with 15 points.
Justin Hineman (Hartland, WI/Arrowhead) added 14 points (4-5 FG, 6-6 FT) and eight rebounds.
Deontay Young (Chicago, IL/Lincoln Park) put together a nice line of eight points, seven rebounds and five assists; his eight points leaves him within eight of reaching the 1,000-point level for his career.
DJ Cupertino led the Warriors (3-16, 2-9 NAC) with 17 points, followed by Andy Thusius with 13 points and Jeremy Murphy with 12.
Concordia (12-7, 5-6) will play at Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Watertown, Wisconsin on Saturday night at 7:15, following the women's game.
