Jan. 17, 2013 - Tonight's Northern Athletics Conference men's basketball game at Geiseman Gymnasium featured two teams in need of a win after a rough first few weeks of January. In the end, it was the Concordia Cougars that made the plays and showed the greater determination in earning an exciting 66-63 win.

The victory did not come easily as the Cougars overcame an early 10-point deficit. Concordia later appeared to be in cruise control as they built a 19-point lead with five minutes left. However, Rockford made a 17-1 run down the stretch and had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but Sam Chones' three hit the back of the rim and caromed away as the horn sounded.

Rockford took an early 14-4 lead as Scott Suchy fired in eight of his team-leading 19 points. Concordia head coach Tyler Jones countered by bringing frreshman guard Tyler Oden (Chicago, IL/Marist) off the bench, and the 5'7" speedster provided some instant offense. Oden snuck inside for a layup off a slick pass from Taylor Rawlings (Rochester Hills, MI/Stoney Creek) and, moments later, hit the Cougars' first three of the game to make the score Regents 14, Cougars 11.

The Regents recovered and built their lead back up to eight on David Dixons' fast-break dunk at the 6:10 mark. However, the Cougars would pitch a shutout for the remainder of the half and climb back once again. Oden's two free throws and a fast-break basket whittled the visitors' lead to four. Rawlings then drew a trip to the free throw line as the Regents began to pile up fouls; the 6'5" sophomore made good on both tries. Moments later, a steal by Cole Reindl (Germantown, WI/H.S.) led to Oden's jumper with two minutes to go. Reindl then came up with another swipe which led to a foul and two free throws by Brandon Johnson (Chicago, IL/Gordon Tech). The 10-point spurt put Concordia up at halftime by a 28-26 score with 20 of Concordia's points coming from the bench.

"This was one of those games where the matchups really dictated things," said Jones. "We found a really good energy after going down ten, especially with what Tyler Oden brought tonight. With the carryover into the second half, that unit was largely responsible for a 29-point turnaround."

Oden kept the Cougars' momentum rolling out of halftime as he nailed two threes and set up Rawlings for a three-point play. Concordia also received a big second-half contribution from Aurtiro Houston (Chicago, IL/Crane). The senior scored 10 of his career-high 14 points in the second half, finishing the game 6-6 from the field. Houston scored on a putback and a jumper as part of a 9-1 run that put Concordia's lead at 15.

The Cougars appeared to have the game well in hand before Suchy tallied eight late points to rally the Regents. Rockford's defensive pressure made itself known as Concordia committed six turnovers down the stretch, leading up to the final missed shot.

"Sometimes it's hard to close out a game when you have a lot of young guys and you haven't been in that situation a lot," said Jones. "But the important thing is that we found a way tonight. The 29-point turnaround is something that we can build on and feel good about as we go on to our next couple of games."

Oden finished with a game-high 20 points on 7-16 from the field (3-7 on threes) and 3-4 from the free throw line. Houston's 14 and Johnson's six gave Concordia a total of 40 points from the bench tonight. Also of note, Rawlings finished with nine points, 12 rebounds and a career-high six assists, and Khirey Floyd (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park-River Forest) added nine points and eight rebounds.

Suchy's 19 points and four steals led Rockford (5-11, 3-5 NAC) while David Dixon and Grant Olsen each scored 16 points.

Concordia (2-14, 2-8 NAC) will face Robert Morris University in non-conference play on Saturday afternoon at 3:00. The game will be played at RMU's home floor at Attack Athletics, located at 2641 W. Harrison Street on Chicago's west side.