Nov. 30, 2013 - The Concordia Cougar men's basketball team was unable to contain the firepower of the host Lakeland College team in today's Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference game in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The Muskies defeated the Cougars 96-81, sending CUC down to 1-3 on the season, 0-2 in conference play.
Both teams came out shooting the ball well, but three turnovers by the Cougars allowed the Muskies to take a 13-6 lead after five minutes. Lakeland worked the ball inside with Justin Ward and Travis Kell each netting a pair of baskets.
A basket by Kostas Doxakis (Thessaloniki, Greece) and a three by Brandon Stinson (Schiller Park, IL/East Leyden) kept the Cougars on the Muskies' heels, but Lakeland eventually opened up a double-digit lead with a 7-0 run. A three by Kurt Jansen capped the run and gave the Muskies a 24-13 lead.
Lakeland built a 19-point lead late in the half, but Concordia closed out the half with a 7-2 run, triggered by a three from Shalav Hogue (Arad, Israel/Tel Aviv). The Cougars were able to trim the halftime deficit to 42-28.
The Cougars began the second half by attacking the basket and were able to cut the deficit to 11, but a quick five-point spurt allowed the Muskies to stretch their lead back to the mid-teens. Concordia-Chicago also got into early foul trouble, allowing the home team to get to the line 27 times in the half. Midway through the half, Lakeland got hot from the outside as James Oshkeshequoam and Joey Burris hit three. The Muskies' lead peaked at 20 points before the Cougars pulled back five points in the waning minutes of the game.
Lakeland (4-1, 1-0 NACC) shot 28-56 from the field for 50 percent, 6-15 from three-point land and 34-45 (76 percent) from the charity stripe. Oshkeshequoam led all scorers with 22 points, followed by Justin Ward with 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Burris with 16 points.
Concordia-Chicago shot 33-71 from the field (47 percent), 3-17 outside the arc and 12-20 at the line. Stinson led the Cougars with 19 points on 8-13 from the field (one three-pointer) and 2-2 from the line. Nat Pearson (Palatine, IL/H.S.) was next in line with 15, followed by Marcus Elston (Chicago, IL/Benito Juarez) with 14 and Mike Walmer (Orlando, FL/Orlando Christian) with 12. Elston led the Cougars with 11 rebounds as the two teams were dead even on the stat sheet with 40 caroms each.
Concordia-Chicago (1-3, 0-2 NACC) will host Silver Lake College in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
