Nov. 27, 2012 - Tonight's Northern Athletics Conference opener for the Concordia-Chicago men's basketball team saw the Cougars overcome a 10-point second-half deficit and have their first victory of the season just about in hand. But the visiting Benedictine Eagles hit the Cougars with an 8-1 blitz over the final 75 seconds to steal a 51-47 victory at Geiseman Gymnasium.

The Cougars trailed much of the way after the Eagles scored the first six points of the game. Marlin Vilius (Eustis, FL/H.S.) finally got the hosts on the board at the 16:29 mark, and Jacob Oakley (Sun Prairie, WI/H.S.) drained a three to put the Cougars back in the running. Concordia tied the game briefly at 10-10 on Joe Pearson's (Chicago, IL/St. Francis de Sales) runner in the lane, but Jamison Montgomery drove the lane for a layup to help Benedictine regain the lead at 12-10.

With the Eagles leading 18-16 with four minutes left, a three by Drake Danford ignited an 8-2 closing run. Danford also canned two free throws just ahead of the buzzer to give the visitors a 26-18 halftime lead.

Concordia committed nine turnovers in the half that led to 10 Benedictine points. They shot just 5-23 (22 percent) from the field compared to Benedictine's 10-28 (36 percent).

Trailing 30-20 early in the second half, Concordia's forwards provided a spark. DeAires Blackwell (Chicago, IL/St. Rita) and Masson Prowse (Sacramento, CA/Rio Americano) combined to score the Cougars' next 10 points and bring them within 33-30. Marcus Elston (Chicago, IL/Benito Juarez) then picked up the offense as he scored 10 of his 12 points in a five-minute span. Several of Elston's baskets came about with strong passes inside, freeing the 6'4" junior for a lay-up or short jumper.

Two Elston free throws pulled Concordia within 43-42, and Vilius followed with two free throws at the 3:45 mark to give the Cougars their first lead of the game. Following a missed three by the Eagles, Brandon Johnson (Chicago, IL/Gordon Tech) knocked down a 15-foot jumper to put the Cougars up by three.

The next few minutes saw the Cougars unable to lock down the victory. Oakley and Rawlings missed shots before Michael Woolf's jumper made it a one-point game at the 1:15 mark. Then, Johnson's driving layup was negated by a charging foul; the foul was Johnson's fifth, causing him to leave the game.

Benedictine worked the ball for a shot and finally took a somewhat surprising shot. Woolf found Tim McGinty in the left corner. The Eagles' 6'8" center had missed all six of his shots prior to this moment, most coming from inside. But McGinty's three hit nothing but net with 39.1 seconds remaining, and the Eagles reclaimed the lead at 48-46.

Following a timeout, the Cougars went for the lead but Oakley's three was off the mark. Woolf rebounded, was fouled and hit two free throws to put the Eagles up four.

There was still some drama remaining as the clock wound down. Cole Reindl (Germantown, WI/H.S.) put up a three from the top of the key with nine seconds left and was fouled on the shot. However, Reindl's shot rimmed out, and he made just one of the three free throws. Moments later, a free throw by Shawn Soelter restored the Eagles' four point lead, and time expired on the Cougars.

Elston led the Cougars with 12 points (5-8 FG, 2-3 FT) and six rebounds. The Cougars' shooting improved to 10-22 (46 percent) in the second half, but they still finished with a 33 percent mark for the game on 15-45. Harder still, Concordia missed 10 of 11 shots from three-point range.

Danford led Benedictine (1-4, 1-0 NAC) off the bench with 12 points, five rebounds and three steals. The Eagles shot 6-18 in the second half to finish 16-46 (35 percent), but they made good on 11 of their 15 second-half free throws.

Concordia will return to action Wednesday, Dec. 5 when they host Aurora University at 7:00.