Jan. 27, 2012 - The Concordia-Chicago Cougars and the Concordia Wisconsin Falcons hooked up in a first-round match this evening in the 61st annual Concordia Invitational Tournament. Buoyed by a spectacular second-half performance by senior Charles Gordon (Chicago, IL/Lane Tech), it appeared as if the Cougars would advance to Saturday night's championship game against Concordia Nebraska. But the Falcons dashed the hopes of all Cougar fans with a three-point basket in the final seconds to steal a 66-65 victory.

The Falcons jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead before Khirey Floyd (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park-River Forest) nailed a three to put the home team on the board. While Floyd would later hit two more from behind the arc, it was Issa Avery (Evanston, IL/St. Benedict) and Marlin Vilius (Eustis, FL/H.S.) that led the way with their very active and energetic play. Vilius, getting the start at forward tonight in place of Gordon, hit three of four shots and provided solid inside play. Avery shot 5-7 for the half, and his three just before the halftime buzzer sent the two teams to the half tied at 32-32.

Concordia Wisconsin was led by a couple of strong first-half performances as well. Brian Jackson got off to a fast start and led all scorers at the break with 15 points (6-8 from the field). Ben Brooke came off the bench to hit all three of his field goal attempts and both of his free throws for eight points.

The second half began with Gordon entering the game after sitting out the entire first half. He wasted little time in making an impact, rebounding a miss and scoring on the putback to put the Cougars up 36-34. Gordon continued to take the attack to the Falcons; his three-point play at the 13:04 mark gave the home team a 49-44 lead.

Avery's layup with 6:04 remaining gave the Cougars their largest lead of the night at 59-49, but the Falcons scored the next five points to get back into the fray. Moments later, Luke Doedens nailed a three from the right side to pull the Falcons to within 60-57 with two minutes left.

It appeared as if the Cougars would hang on as Gordon scored again, and Justin Hineman (Hartland, WI/Arrowhead) split a pair of free throws to push the lead back to six at the 1:09 mark. But two free throws narrowed the lead to four, and Avery missed two free throws to keep the door open. The Cougars missed six of their 12 free throws in the second half, one of the key stats that would come back to haunt them.

A Falcons' free throw made it a three-point game before the Cougars turned the ball over on their next two possessions. The second turnover led to a three by Nick Doedens that tied the game with 29.5 ticks left.

The Cougars worked the ball to try and get the last shot. Eventually, Gordon saw his opening and drove in from the left side. His layup was good, giving him a perfect 9-9 from the field and, more importantly, giving the Cougars a 65-63 lead with 7.5 seconds left.

The Falcons called time to set up their last play. Matt Paluchniak drove the middle of the floor before kicking the ball out to Jackson in the right corner. With a hand in his face, Jackson's three hit nothing but net. The Cougars inbounded the ball, but Avery's three from midcourt was off target, and the Falcon players and fans celebrated their shocking win.

Gordon finished with 19 points in 19 minutes, followed by Avery with 15. Fittingly, Jackson led all scorers with 21 points on 8-11 from the field including 3-5 on threes. Luke Doedens tallied 11 and Brooke 10.

The Cougar men (6-12) will play Concordia Ann Arbor in Saturday's consolation game at 2:15. The Cardinals came up short in a 78-74 contest against Concordia Nebraska in Friday's other first-round men's game.