Jan. 19, 2013 - The Concordia-Chicago men's basketball team broke from their conference schedule this afternoon to take on a traditional NAIA powerhouse in Robert Morris University of Chicago. The Cougars hoped to build on the momentum of Thursday night's win over Rockford College, but some untimely turnovers were the biggest deterrent in a 73-62 loss to the Eagles.
The Cougars went inside against the taller Eagles to start the game as
Taylor Rawlings (Rochester Hills, MI/Stoney Creek) scored Concordia's first six points. Backed by some strong work on the boards by Rawlings and
Khirey Floyd (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park-River Forest), the Cougars kept the hosts under check for the first eight minutes.
The Eagles took their first lead at 10-8 and began to assert control behind a 12-point first half by reserve forward Maurice Williams. The Cougars' offense hit a lull at the same time, and they soon found themselves looking at a 27-14 deficit.
Late in the half, the Cougars made their move. Floyd and
David Baez (Chicago, IL/George Washington) connected for the Cougars' first three-point baskets of the game, and
Brandon Stinson (Schiller Park, IL/East Leyden) scored on a driving layup. Floyd then hit from beyond the arc with 90 seconds remaining to pull the Cougars within 29-27.
The chance for a halftime lead was denied the Cougars as Anthony Shoemaker's lalyup and Kashuane McKinney's three stretched the lead back to seven. Two turnovers then worked against the Cougars in the final 30 seconds, resulting in Brian Bradley's layup and Joshua Anderson's buzzer-beating three. Suddenly, the Eagles' halftime lead was up to 39-27.
Concordia fell behind by 14 early in the second half but continued to whittle away at the lead. When Baez and
Joel Kosberg (Anthem, AZ/Valley Lutheran) hit threes on consecutive trips down the floor, the Cougars had cut the deficit in half, 48-41 with 13 minutes still to play.
As was the case earlier, another quick burst of turnovers derailed the Cougars. Three miscues within a minute allowed the hosts to run off six unanswered points highlighted by Williams' slam dunk on the break. Concordia would be unable to get closer than 10 points the rest of the game.
Brandon Johnson (Chicago, IL/Gordon Tech) led four Cougars in double-figure scoring with 12 points. Rawlings and Stinson each scored 11, and Floyd added 10. Rawlings pulled down a season-high 14 rebounds as Concordia finished with a 38-32 advantage on the boards.
Robert Morris received a big lift from the bench as Williams led the hosts (10-12) with 16 points, followed by Anderson's 15. Starting forward Shoemaker also scored 15 points while pulling down a team-leading nine rebounds.
The Eagles shot 30-64 from the field for 47 percent to the Cougars' 21-55 for 38 percent. The final turnover numbers were also telling as Concordia committed 19 to RMU's 10.
Concordia (2-16) will return to Northern Athletics Conference play Wednesday night when they play at Aurora University.
