Dec. 4, 2014 - The Concordia-Chicago Cougars looked to get December off to a good start after splitting their first four games of the new season. But Benedictine University had other ideas, and the Eagles used a couple of big runs to hand the Cougars a 73-59 defeat at Geiseman Gymnasium this evening.
Guards Brandon Stinson (Schiller Park, IL/East Leyden) and Kylan Anderson (Chicago, IL/home schooled) looked to get the Cougars going early. Anderson got out on the break for a couple of layups, and Stinson drove hard to the basket earning an early trip to the foul line. Stinson also scored on a drive and fed Tino Vazquez (Chicago, IL/Proviso East) that gave CUC a 12-10 lead. The Eagles came back with eight straight points to take a lead they would not relinquish. Tim McGinty, the Eagles' 6'8" forward, was the trigger man with a pair of free throws, a steal and an assist on Adam Reynolds' basket that made the score 18-12, Benedictine.
The Cougars stayed close as Tyler Zastrow (Sheboygan, WI/Sheboygan Lutheran) hit the home team's first three of the night. However, the Eagles went off on another 8-0 run led by McGinty and Reynolds, and the Cougars found themselves looking up at a 12-point deficit. Michael Blaszczyk then heated up from the outside as he nailed three shots from behind the arc, and Concordia went to the locker room at half trailing by a 44-31 score. Any thoughts of a comeback were dispelled early in the second half as Benedictine scored 15 of the first 16 points. The Cougars missed their first 14 shots from the field before Kostas Doxakis (Thessaloniki, Greece) hit a three at the 11:14 mark. However, the Eagles' lead was well into the twenties at that point, and the Cougars would get no closer than the final 14-point margin. The final box score showed the Eagles shooting 23-47 (49 percent) overall, 4-9 (44 percent) from threes, and 23-34 (68 percent) from the foul line. Meanwhile, the Cougars were 22-60 (37 percent) from the field, 4-20 from long distance (20 percent) and 11-14 (79 percent) from the line. Benedictine owned a 42-27 margin on the glass.
Benedictine (4-2, 3-1 NACC) was led by McGinty's 18 points and nine rebounds. Dodson and Blaszczyk were also in double figures with 15 and 13 points respectively.
Concordia-Chicago (2-3, 0-2 NACC) was paced by Stinson's 18 points and three assists. Anderson finished with 14 points, and Zastrow finished with eight points and four steals.
The Cougars will play the first of three straight road games on Saturday when they travel to Edgewood College.
