Feb. 11, 2012 - Giving credence to the old saying, "It's not how you start but how you finish," the Concordia-Chicago men's basketball team is positioning itself for a run at the Northern Athletics Conference title - a run that appeared quite unlikely just a few short weeks ago.

The Cougars defeated the Milwaukee School of Engineering 66-54 at Geiseman Gymnasium for their third straight win and fifth in their last six conference games. Concordia's win, coupled with Rockford College's loss to Benedictine University, created a three-way tie at the top of the NAC South Division with all three schools having 9-6 NAC records. Concordia will square off with Rockford Tuesday night at the Regents' Seaver Gymnasium while Benedictine will travel to Aurora University.

Adding to today's drama, it was Senior Day at Concordia. Fittingly, the four Cougar seniors - Issa Avery (Evanston, IL/St. Benedict), Charles Gordon (Chicago, IL/Lane TEch), Justin hineman (Hartland, WI/Arrowhead) and Keegan Johnson (Sycamore, IL/H.S.) all played roles in CUC's first win over MSOE since the Raiders joined the NAC in 2007. "MSOE had been a thorn in our side for quite some time, and it was a special feeling to get this win not only for the clinching of a tournament spot but to give our seniors the feeling of achievement in beating the one team they hadn't beaten previously," said head coach Tyler Jones.

The Cougars got off to a quick start, scoring the first eight points of the game before a three by MSOE's Jeremiah Erdmann put the visitors on the board five minutes in. The Raiders fought back to take an 18-16 lead at the 8:57 mark, but that would be their lone advantage of the day. Al Kahlfeldt (New Berlin, WI/Eisenhower) and Taylor Rawlings (Rochester Hills, MI/Stoney Creek) connected on consecutive threes to put Concordia back on top, although their lead at halftime would be a slim two points at 31-29.

Oren Bloom opened the second half with a basket to tie the score, but Hineman shot Concordia back into the lead with a baseline jumper. Hineman, who started his 99th consecutive game as a Concordia Cougar today, would go 4-5 from the field in the second half and 8-12 for the game en route to a team-leading 16-point performance.

The Raiders stayed in the hunt and trailed by just two points midway through the half when the Cougars erupted for an 11-point run. Hineman connected on another medium-range jumper to start the run. On the Cougars' next trip, they ran the shot clock down before Alphonso Dunbar (Bellwood, IL/Walther Lutheran) found Johnson cutting through the lane. Johnson's layup beat the shot clock buzzer to boost the lead up to six.

Rawlings scored the next five points on a jumper in the lane and a three-pointer before Gordon's jumper completed the charge and put the lead at 56-43. The bench play was a source of encouragement to the team as Coach Jones observed after the game. "Taylor Rawlings came through with some big shots again, just like he did the other night at Aurora. I thought too that Alphonso Dunbar gave us some great energy, and his four assists in 13 minutes of play was a huge lift."

MSOE rallied to get within 60-54 on two free throws by Oren Bloom (22 points) with 3:16 left, but Concordia allowed no more points to the visitors. Hineman nailed a jumper after the Cougars had run much of the shot clock down to put Concordia up eight with 1:48 left. Free throws by Gordon and Johnson then closed the game out over the final minute.

Hineman's 16-point effort was backed by Gordon's 15 and Rawlings' 12. Avery was slowed by an ankle injury and scored just six points but managed to pull down eight rebounds, tying him with Gordon for game-high honors. The Cougars shot 48 percent for the game but were 55 percent in the second half on 12 of 22. Concordia also took care of the ball, committing just 10 turnovers while dishing out 13 assists.

Concordia's game at Rockford on Tuesday will be accessible via Live Stats. Fans are encouraged to go to the Cougars' website at www.cucougars.com for links to the live coverage.