Nov. 23, 2013 - Faced with a 10-point halftime deficit, the Concordia-Chicago Cougars turned things around with a strong defensive effort in the second half and came back to defeat the Vikings of Bethany Lutheran College 76-72 in men's basketball action this afternoon in Mankato, Minnesota.
"We made some necessary adjustments at halftime, but the effort was really what turned the game around," said Cougars' head coach
Tyler Jones. "The guys really got after it in the second half and did a great job shutting down some of their players."
Jared Gosse (Green Bay, WI/NEW Lutheran), Kostas Doxakis (Thessaloniki, Greece) and
Justin Saar (Tracy, CA/Merrill F. West) broke into the Cougars' starting lineup today, and all made substantial contributions. However, it was the returning lettermen that had it going early on for the Cougars. Trailing 17-13,
Marcus Elston (Chicago, IL/Benito Juarez) scored on consecutive trips to tie the game. Moments later,
Brandon Stinson (Schiller Park, IL/East Leyden) nailed a three-pointer and then fed Gosse for a layup to put the Cougars up 24-19.
Just as the Cougars were building steam, the Vikings hit consecutive threes that triggered a 10-0 run. The Cougars clawed back to within 32-30 but the Vikings came back with two more threes. Bethany finished the half on a 12-4 run to hold a 44-34 lead after 20 minutes.
The defensive adjustments a thalftime paid quick dividends for the Cougars. They forced three missed shots and three turnovers over the first six minutes. Meanwhile, Saar connected on a three,
Nat Pearson (Palatine, IL/H.S.) hit a jumper, and Gosse split a pair of free throws to make the score Vikings 44, Cougars 40. Bethany ended the draught briefly, but the Cougars kept coming, helped along by Stinson's three.
Concordia reclaimed the lead at the 13:49 mark on Pearson's basket.
Mike Walmer (Orlando, FL/Orlando Christian) followed with a layup for a three-point lead. Bethany scored to get back within one, but Pearson's jumper and Elston's slam dunk gave the Cougars a 55-50 edge.
Walmer would take over down the stretch to help secure the Cougars' first win of the year. The Vikings tied the game 64-64 with five minutes to play, but Walmer's two free throws put CUC back in the lead. Moments later, Walmer rebounded a BLC miss and went the length of the floor for the layup and a four-point lead.
The Vikings made one last run, scoring six straight points for a 70-68 lead. But Stinson knotted the game up, and Walmer fed Gosse for the go-ahead basket with 1:05 remaining. Walmer then hit four free throws in the final minute to put the game on ice.
Walmer scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half to spark the victory. Pearson chipped in with 18 points, followed by Gosse with 11 and Saar with 10. Stinson also scored 10 but made his most significant contribution with a career-high nine assists.
Jacob Wensmann led the Vikings (0-3) with 19 points and eight rebounds. However, the Cougars' defense frustrated the home team consistently in the second half, holding them to 39 percent shooing. Moreover, the Vikings went 0-9 after halftime after shooting 8-20 in the opening half.
Concordia (1-2) returns to action next Saturday, Nov. 30 with a conference game at Lakeland College.
