Dec. 14, 2013 - The Concordia-Chicago men's basketball team faced a stiff challenge this afternoon in the Sabres of Marian University. Marian came into the game with a 5-0 record in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play, and a big first half by the hosts made it 6-0 with a 76-61 win over CUC at MU's Sadoff Gymnasium
The Cougars got off to a fast start with buckets by Marcus Elston (Chicago, IL/Benito Juarez) and Nat Pearson (Palatine, IL/H.S.). However, the tide turned quickly against CUC as Marian scored 11 unanswered points. The Sabres canned three shots from long range during the run.
Concordia's chances to answer back quickly were thwarted by a string of turnovers. Marian scored 20 first-half point off of CUC's miscues. The Sabres also took 19 more shots from the field for the half, and all of this led to Marian taking a 36-16 lead at the half.
The second half opened with a quick outburst by the Cougars. After Elston split a pair of free throws, Justin Saar (Tracy, CA/Merrill F. West) hit a three from the left side for the Cougars' first triple of the game. Brandon Stinson (Schiller Park, IL/East Leyden) drove in for a layup, and Mike Walmer (Orlando, FL/Orlando Christian) converted two free tosses. Suddenly, Marian's daunting 20-point lead was down to 12 at 36-24 just a couple of minutes into the half.
Marian's Jeff Harris scored to end the 8-0 run, but the Cougars were back at it moments later. Stinson scored inside again, and Elston followed with a close-in score at the 15:07 mark to put the Cougars within 10.
The Cougars had a chance to get the Sabres' lead down to single digits. but they would miss two free throws on the next possession. The Sabres then reversed the momentum as they outscored the Cougars 11-2 over the next few minutes, buoyed by a couple of three-point plays and a long three by Brad Koth. Marian's lead was back up to 19, and it would top off at 22 before CUC cut the final margin down to 15.
Stinson led the Cougars with 11 points and eight rebounds. Pearson and Walmer scored 10 each while Elston finished with nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Marian's Sam Koslowski led all scorers with 17 points.
Concordia-Chicago (2-6, 0-5 NACC) will return home to host Fontbonne University on Monday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Geiseman Gymnasium.
