Jan. 24. 2014 - After playing a high-octane thriller just 16 days ago, tonight's rematch between the Concordia-Chicago Cougars and the Concordia Wisconsin Falcons in the setting of the 63rd annual Concordia Invitational Tournament figured to be just as exciting. Looking to end a five-game skid, the Cougars looked to be in position to do just that as they outplayed the Falcons for much of the first 30 minutes. However, some hot three-point shooting in the second half plus a career game by CUW's Garrett Wenzelburger propelled the hosts past the Cougars by a final score of 83-75.
It took the Cougars the first few minutes to establish their tempo, but they overcame the early 4-0 deficit with nine straight points. Brandon Stinson (Schiller Park, IL/East Leyden) paced the attack in scoring a couple of baskets and also making a pretty feed to Jared Gosse (Green Bay, WI/NEW Lutheran) for an easy layup. Nat Pearson (Palatine, IL/H.S.) hit a three from the left side to keep the Falcons' defense on their heels. The Cougars extended their lead out to seven points before the Falcons got up off the deck. Sparked by the 6'6" Wenzelburger off the bench, the Falcons outscored the Cougars 11-1 to take a 17-14 lead at the 8:48 mark.
Baskets by Mike Walmer (Orlando, FL/Orlando Christian) and Marcus Elston (Chicago, IL/Benito Juarez) allowed the Cougars to recover, and the game returned to its breakneck pace again. The Cougars continued to build momentum, and Kostas Doxakis' (Thessaloniki, Greece) three from the left corner gave CUC a 27-21 lead. The Falcons stayed close for the remainder of the half, but Elston's late basket and a free throw by Gosse let the Cougars go into halftime with a 34-28 lead.
Concordia-Chicago's fast pace did result in eight turnovers compared to the Falcons' four. However, CUC maintained the lead with an emphatic 29-21 edge on the glass. Stinson was a monster on the board, pulling down a total of 12 (three on the offensive end).
The second half opened with a burst of energy by the Falcons. Trailing by eight, Eric Kittel hit a three for the Falcons' first triple in 10 tries on the night. Brett Boettcher converted a three-point play to bring the Falcons closer. Moments later, Kittel hit his second three to knot the game at 43-43.
From that point on, the two teams battled tooth and nail with neither team getting more than a two-possession lead. Walmer's putback with four minutes left produced the final tie at 69-69. But Brad Prinsen and Wenzelburger struck for back-to-back scores. Gosse tallied to put CUC back within two, but Kittel hit another clutch three to give CUW a 76-71 lead at the 2:26 mark. Mark Scholz then converted a three-point play a minute later, and the Falcons would close out the game on free throws.
Wenzelburger accounted for 21 of the Falcons' 40 points off the bench. He hit 7-11 from the field including his only three and was a perfect 6-6 at the line. The Falcons also received 11 points from Kittel and 10 points each from Keith Kahlfeldt, Boettcher and Prinsen.
Walmer led five Cougars in double-figure scoring with 17 points. Elston chipped in with 15 points and eight rebounds, and Stinson recorded 13 points and 16 boards. Doxakis scored 12 points (3-5 on threes) and Gosse had 11 points and eight rebounds.
The final stats showed shooting percentages nearly identical and the Cougars holding a 46-35 advantage on the boards. However, the Cougars committed 15 turnovers to just seven for the Falcons. Also, the Falcons finished with 5-7 on three-point shooting after missing their first nine.
The Cougars will play the consolation game of the tournament on Saturday afternoon at 2:00. They will take on Concordia Ann Arbor who fell to Concordia Nebraska in Friday's other first-round game.
