Jan. 8, 2014 - Wednesday night's game between the Concordias of Chicago and Wisconsin produced yet another thrilling contest in the history of this sister-school rivalry. While the Falcons have had the better of recent contests, this one went to the host Cougars as they made the big plays in the second half and the overtime to defeat the Falcons 98-93.
"These last two wins have been satisfying from a standpoint of our having difficulties in recent head-to-head matchups," said CUC head coach Tyler Jones. referring also to this past Saturday's 79-74 win over the Milwaukee School of Engineering. "But our chemistry has been getting better over these last few weeks, and our guys had the confidence to make the big plays down the stretch tonight and get a very nice victory."
Not coincidentally, the Cougars' second straight win was aided by a second straight outstanding performance by sophomore guard Kostas Doxakis (Thessaloniki, Greece). Four days after establishing a season-best effort of 21 points, Doxakis topped that with a 29-point effort that included an 18-point second half that helped erase a nine-point halftime deficit. He also hit the two free throws that gave the Cougars the lead for good, 94-93 with 34.6 seconds left in the overtime.
It took all of the heroics by Doxakis and his teammates to triumph over a CUW team that received a tremendous individual performance by sophomore guard Bradley Prinsen. He scored 10 early points to help the Falcons to a 12-2 lead after the first four minutes. The Cougars fought back to catch the visitors at 16-16 and shortly after take their first lead at 20-18 on Doxakis' layup.
A basket by Jared Gosse (Greenleaf, WI/NEW Lutheran) gave CUC a 27-24 lead, but a 7-0 run by the Falcons created another lead change. Nat Pearson (Palatine, IL/H.S.) interrupted CUW's run with a three, but the Falcons then answered with a 6-0 run. Prinsen added a three-point play in the final minutes of the half, and CUW went to the locker room after 20 minutes with a 42-33 lead. The halftime stats showed Prinsen with a perfect half - 8-8 from the field including a three and 3-3 from the line for a game-high 20 points.
The first part of the second half saw the Falcons rebuff a couple of mini-runs by the Cougars, and the visitors still maintained a comfortable lead. But after Keith Kahlfeldt's three put CUW up 67-59, the Cougars made their move. Mike Walmer (Orlando, FL/Orlando Christian) hit a pair of free throws, and Doxakis followed with a pair of three-pointers to draw the Cougars even at 67-67.
The two rivals fought tooth and nail over the next several minutes with several more lead changes ensuing. Marcus Elston's (Chicago, IL/Benito Juarez) three-point play gave CUC an 82-81 lead with 1:42 remaining, but Kahlfeldt's two free throws allowed CUW to regain the lead. The Cougars then missed a layup but got the ball back when they created a jump-ball situation with the arrow pointing in CUC's direction. Walmer would turn that into a layup with 18.6 ticks left for an 84-83 lead. A turnover gave the ball back to the home team, and Doxakis split a pair of free throws with 2.7 left for an 85-83 advantage. However, the Falcons moved the ball quickly downcourt and got a buzzer-beating layup by Eric Kittel to send the game into overtime.
Kittel scored to begin the extra session, but the Cougars came back with two free throws by Walmer and a short jumper by Elston. Concordia-Chicago held the lead for the next few minutes until Kittel's three gave the Falcons the lead one last time, 93-92 with just under a minute left.
The Cougars' free throw shooting would make the difference in the final minute. Doxakis' final two points of the night came from the line with 35 seconds left for a 94-93 edge. Elston then knocked down four in the final 10 seconds to provide the icing on the cake.
"At one point in the second half, we were shooting 6-13 from the line," noted Jones. "The fact that we made nine of 10 in the overtime really showed our determination and desire to do what was necessary and get this game in the win column."
Five Cougars finished in double-digit scoring. Doxakis' 29 came on 11-16 shooting (3-6 threes) and 4-5 from the line. Elston was next in line with his fourth straight double-double of 23 points (7-10 FG, 9-13 FT) and 16 rebounds. Walmer tallied 18 points (7-10 FG, 4-5 FT), followed by Brandon Stinson (Schiller Park, IL/East Leyden) with 14 points and seven assists, and Pearson with 11 points. The Cougars shot 57 percent from the field on 37-65.
For the Falcons (6-6, 4-4 NACC), Prinsen's 35 points came on 13-17 from the field (2-3 threes) and 7-9 from the line. Kahlfeldt scored 18 points, followed by Kittel with 17 and Mark Scholz with 11. The Falcons shot 34-75 from the field for 45 percent.
The Cougars had a slight advantage on the boards, 41-37. The turnovers were also close with the Cougars committing 19 and the Falcons 16.
Concordia-Chicago (5-7, 2-6 NACC) will go for three in a row on Saturday when they travel to Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin.
