Nov. 15, 2014 - The Concordia-Chicago men's basketball team survived a spirited challenge from host Knox College and pulled away in the second half to a 90-76 win over the Prairie Fire in Saturday night's season opener for both teams in Galesburg, IL.
Despite a lengthy bus ride and a delay in start time due to a lengthy preliminary game prior, the Cougars quickly shook off any cobwebs and claimed the early lead. Newcomers Tino Vazquez (Chicago, IL/Proviso East) and Kylan Anderson (Chicago, IL/home schooled) scored CUC's first 10 points with Anderson connecting twice from long range. Brandon Stinson (Schiller Park, IL/East Leyden) then got into the act, hitting a jumper in the lane and making good on a three-point play to give Concordia-Chicago the early 15-5 lead. The hosts found their offensive rhythm at that point and began to cut into the Cougars' lead. Concordia-Chicago was unable to take advantage of Knox's foul trouble as they missed eight first-half free throws, and the Prairie Fire came back to take its first lead at 29-28 with five minutes remaining in the half.
The combination of Anderson and Vazquez helped the Cougars recover with Vazquez hitting a key three. Mike Walmer (Orlando, FL/Orlando Christian) then hit a jumper in the final minute to give CUC a 39-37 lead at the break. Early in the second half, it was senior Jacob Oakley (Sun Prairie, WI/H.S.) and freshman Patrick Phillip (Kissimmee, FL/Osceola) that took charge of the game as the Cougars took the lead for good. Leading 44-42, Oakley nailed a three and Phillip hit a jumper to bump the lead up to seven. Knox fought their way back to within five, but Phillip answered with four straight free throws. Oakley followed with a three and a two and, suddenly, the Cougars had a 14-point lead at 63-49. Oakley later hit a third three as he scored 12 in the half to help the Cougars pull away. "Jake was the catalyst in the second half, no doubt about it," said CUC head coach Tyler Jones. "His threes really stretched their defense and opened up the rest of the floor for us." Jones also praised the contribution of center DeAires Blackwell (Chicago, IL/St. Rita) who scored just three points but pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds. "DeAires really did the dirty work for us tonight," said Jones, who saw his Cougars own a 22-10 advantage on the boards in the second half. "He knows how to take charge in the paint and get good position against the taller posts." "I was very happy with our offensive play, and I feel we could have scored 100 points were it not for our 23 turnovers," added Jones. "But any time you go on the road and get a win like this, it's a big thing. We can now look forward to coming home for four straight games and establishing ourselves as a team."
Vazquez and Stinson led CUC with 17 points eeach, with Stinson also handing out four assists. Anderson scored 14 and Oakley 12, both on the strength of their long-range shooting. Phillip added 11 points and Walmer 10 as the Cougars placed six players in double figures.
The Cougars (1-0) will host Maranatha Baptist University on Tuesday night at 7:00.
