Jan. 24, 2015 - The Concordias of Chicago and Wisconsin got together in River Forest this afternoon, providing a foretaste of what is to come next weekend with the 64th annual Concordia Invitational Tournament in Ann Arbor, MI. Today's meeting between the Cougars and Falcons was the second this season between the two Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference rivals, a close contest until the Falcons pulled away in the final few minutes for a 78-67 victory.
The Falcons jumped out to an early lead behind forwards Brett Boettcher and Keith Kahlfeldt. Boettcher's three-point shot from the top of the key and Kahlfeldt's three-point play gave CUW a 17-10 lead after seven minutes of play. But
Mike Walmer (Orlando, FL/Orlando Christian) put the Cougars on the comeback trail with a pair of free throws and a strong drive to the basket for two more points.
Kylan Anderson (Chicago, IL/home schooled) followed with a three, and
DeAires Blackwell (Chicago, IL/St. Rita) earned a trip to the free throw line with some aggressive play inside. Blackwell cashed in the two charity tosses to make it a 9-0 run as the Cougars led 19-17.
Later in the half, the Cougars stretched their lead to six as Walmer fed Tino Vazquez (Chicago, IL/Proviso East) for a layup and Patrick Phillip (Kissimmee, FL/Osceola) hit two free throws. But the Falcons came back with an 11-point run of their own, capped off by Boettcher's three. CUC closed the gap with two baskets by Walmer, but the Falcons' Malcolm Bowers beat the halftime buzzer with a layup to give the visitors a 41-37 edge. Kahlfeldt scored the first five points of the second half, but the Cougars quickly bounced back on a tip-in by Vazquez and a three by Walmer. The visitors' lead would stay between four and eight points for the next 11 minutes as 10 second-half turnovers would prevent the Cougars from making any more sustained runs at the Falcons.
Finally, CUW opened up the lead in the last four minutes. Five straight points by Bradley Prinsen and several late free throws enabled CUW to expand the edge back into double figures and close out a competitive battle between the two sister schools.
Both teams shot 44 percent from the field, CUC having just one more field goal. However, CUW outshot CUC at the line with the Falcons connecting on 71 percent (30-42) to the Cougars' 63 percent (17-27). REbounds also went to the Falcons by a 37-30 margin.
Bowers led CUW (11-7, 10-5 NACC) with 20 points, followed by Kahlfeldt with 17. Boettcher notched a double-double of 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds,
Walmer led CUC (5-13, 3-12 NACC) with 25 points, four assists and four steals. Vazquez added 11 points and six rebounds while Blackwell and Anderson each chimed in with 10 points.
The Cougars return to action on Tuesday night when they play at Benedictine University in Lisle.
