Dec. 16, 2013 - The Concordia-Chicago men's basketball team gave the term "Christmas rush" a new meaning this evening. In their final game before a two-week break for the holiday, the Cougars ran the Griffins of Fontbonne University out of Geiseman Gymnasium with a 100-85 victory. The offensive outburst marked the first time since Nov. 20, 2010 that the Cougars reached the century mark.
The game was tied 4-4 in the early minutes when Justin Saar (Tracy, CA/Merrill F. West) hit a three to give the Cougars the lead. Concordia got everyone involved early as Marcus Elston (Chicago, IL/Benito Juarez) and Mike Walmer (Orlando, FL/Orlando Christian) attacked the inside while Nat Pearson (Palatine, IL/H.S.) nailed a 15-footer. When Joel Kosberg (Anthem, AZ/Valley Lutheran) drove for a layup and was fouled, the Cougars held a 17-10 lead.
While the visitors from St. Louis recovered and came back to take a couple of one and two-point leads, the Cougars kept in a steady offensive rhythm. Elston in particular enjoyed a monster first half as he scored 11 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
In the final minute of the half, Walmer's layup gave CUC a 41-40 lead. A Griffins' offensive foul gave the ball back to the Cougars, and Jake Oakley's (Sun Prairie, WI/H.S.) three from the left side beat the buzzer to put Concordia up 44-40 after 20 minutes.
A basket by Elston opened the second half, but Fontbonne stormed back with an 8-0 run helped by threes from Kody Ettinger and Orkan Bakis. The two teams continued to battle back and forth for several minutes, but when
Brandon Stinson (Schiller Park, IL/East Leyden) scored on a layup at the 10:44 mark, the Cougars had a 65-64 lead that they would not relinquish again.
Stinson's basket triggered a 12-2 run in which he and Walmer accounted for all of CUC's points. Walmer led the way for the Cougars in the second half, shooting 5-7 from the field and 9-11 from the free throw line. The latter stat spread its way through the Cougar lineup in the second half as they got into the bonus midway through the half and knocked down 24 of 29.
Walmer and Stinson both shot 8-12 from the field for the game and notched career highs in carrying the Cougars to victory number three on the season. Walmer led all scorers with 25 points and added five assists while Stinson scored 24 (including a perfect 8-8 at the line) while handing out four assists. Elston finished with 16 points while capturing a career-high 18 rebounds.
Also putting up a career high was freshman Rodney Castor (Fort Myers, FL/H.S.). Castor hit a three-pointer and made 6-8 free throws in his first extended action of the season. It was Myers' two free throws with 44 seconds left that gave CUC its 99th and 100th points of the game.
Fontbonne (1-7) was led by Bryan DeGeare with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Jared Greenlee, Kody Ettinger and Blake Welch all scored 12.
Concordia-Chicago (3-6) will return to the hardwood on Tuesday, Dec. 31 with a matinee game against conference rival Wisconsin Lutheran College.
