Box Score
Jan. 25, 2013 - The men's teams of Concordia Chicago and Nebraska found themselves locked in a good old-fashioned rivalry game this evening as part of first-round play in the 62nd annual Concordia Invitational Tournament. The Cougars led the Bulldogs at the half but then fell behind by 14 points midway through the second half. Concordia-Chicago nearly erased that deficit in the final five minutes, but time expired on CUC's comeback as they fell 75-71 at the Walz Arena in Seward, Nebraska.
The Bulldogs were hot from three-point range early. They knocked down four of their first five in taking a 17-8 lead. The Cougars' deficit grew to 11 before they began to put it together late in the half. Senior Khirey Floyd (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park-River Forest) provided the spark as he took on the Bulldogs' big men in the paint and hit some shots over them. Taylor Rawlings (Rochester Hills. MI/Stoney Creek) jumper and Tyler Oden's (Chicago, IL/Marist) three helped propel the comeback too, pulling the Cougars within five.
Floyd's jumper in the paint followed by a three from the left side tied the game at 29-29, but the Cougars' forward was not finished yet. Moments later, he knocked down another three from the top of the key for a three-point lead. The Bulldogs came back with two baskets to briefly reclaim the lead, but Rawlings' drive to the basket with 14 seconds left gave Concordia-Chicago a 34-33 lead at the break.
The Cougars grabbed a three-point lead early in the half, but the Bulldogs soon made their charge. Beau Smith's three gave CUNE the lead at 40-39, and the hosts extended their charge to an 18-2 run. Smith hit another three to cap the run, giving Nebraska a 55-42 lead midway through the second half.
Trailing 63-49 with five minutes remaining, the Cougars used the long ball to launch their own comeback. Oden hit from the deep corner to start the rally. Oden added a two-point jumper before Floyd hit on consecutive threes to put CUC within 67-60 with one minute to go. The Bulldogs hit two free throws to make it a nine-point game, but Floyd answered with another three. Then, following a turnover, Brandon Johnson (Chicago, IL/Gordon Tech) found Brandon Stinson (Schiller Park, IL/East Leyden) underneath for a layup. Suddenly, the Cougars trailed by just four points at 69-65.
Adam Vogt hit two free throws to give the hosts a little distance, but Floyd struck again. His three from the left side gave him a career-high six triples and a total of 26 points. Again, the Bulldogs hit two free throws in response, but the Cougars were not done. Johnson hit from downtown with just 2.7 seconds left to put the Cougars within 73-71. The Cougars were forced to foul, and Joel Haywood finally put the game out of reach for Nebraska with his two free throws.
Floyd shot 10-14 from the field including 6-7 from the outside, topping his previous high of 20 points set earlier this season against Edgewood College. Rawlings added 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds, and Oden finished with 10 points. The Cougars shot over 50 percent from the field (26-51) and were 8-17 from outside but just 8-16 at the free throw line.
Beau Smith led Nebraska with 18 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Vogt with 13 points. The Bulldogs shot 24-48 from the field, 6-19 from threes and 21-31 from the line.
The Cougars will look to take third place home to Chicago on Saturday afternoon when they play Concordia University Ann Arbor.
