Jan. 29, 2014 - The Concordia Cougars and Benedictine Eagles hooked up tonight at Geiseman Gymnasium for the second of two meetings on the season schedule. In a game befitting one of the oldest rivalries in the region, the two teams played with a lot of intensity while their fans were very much into the action. In the end, the Eagles had just enough free throws down the stretch to hold off a frantic comback by the Cougars andearn the victory by a final score of 81-78.

Both teams got into the offensive flow of the game quickly. Marcus Elston (Chicago, IL/Benito Juarez) was CUC's go-to player early on in scoring six of the team's first 14 points. However, Benedictine got early threes from Alex Edmondson and Xavier Myers to keep pace with the Cougars.

Jon Bock's three at the 6:41 mark of the half produced the ninth lead change of the half as Benedictine grabbed a 24-22 lead. Moments later, a breakaway slam and a three by Mike Blaszczyk triggered a 7-0 run that allowed the visitors to close out the half on a strong note and take a 40-33 lead after 20 minutes.

Benedictine would hold the lead for the entirety of the second half, but Concordia-Chicago would not let them get too far away. Trailing by 10 points with 6:27 left, the Cougars used free throws by Brandon Stinson (Schiller Park, IL/East Leyden) and Mike Walmer (Orlando, FL/Orlando Christian) to chip away. Shortly after, Jacob Oakley (Sun Prairie, WI/H.S.) hit a three to make the score Eagles 66, Cougars 60.

The Cougars inched within four points at the three-minute mark, but the Eagles' Tim McGinty hit the biggest three of the game from the corner to boost the lead to 70-63. McGinty's shot would be the final field goal of the game for the visitors as they would rely on free throws down the stretch.

Stinson and Walmer kept the pressure on the Eagles as they each got inside for layups. The Cougars then upped the intensity as Oakley struck for two threes in the final 12 seconds. His second three came with 2.8 seconds left and pulled CUC within a single point at 79-78. But the Cougars fouled Blaszczyk with 1.5 on the clock. The Eagles' guard sank both shots to make it a three-point game.

The Cougars still had one chance to tie the game, but the Eagles defended the Cougars' inbounds options well. Concordia-Chicago was forced to go short to Nat Pearson (Palatine, IL/H.S.) whose last-second heave had the distance but was well off to the right.

Blaszczyk led Benedictine (9-10, 7-7 NACC) with 19 points on 6-8 shooting (two threes) and 4-6 from the line. The Eagles shot 27-53 (51 percent) overall, 7-17 from long distance and 20-31 from the charity stripe.

Elston made right of his 10 shots from the field to pace Concordia-Chicago (5-15, 2-13 NACC) with 19 points. The senior also pulled down 11 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the year. Stinson chipped in with 15 points, followed by Walmer with 14 and six assists. Jared Gosse (Green Bay, WI/NEW Lutheran) also reached double figures, shooting 5-7 for an 11-point night.

The Cougars return to action Saturday afternoon when they host Lakeland College.