Jan. 12, 2016 - The first game of a busy three-game stretch in five days came with Division Street rivals Concordia University Chicago and Dominican University locking horns tonight at DU's Igini Sports Forum. The latest Battle for River Forest produced the usual intensity on both sides, but the Stars' one-two punch of Josh Mayberry and Tim Robertson was too much for the Cougars despite a career performance by Mike Walmer (Orlando, FL/Orlando Christian), and Dominican captured the first of the two battles this season by a final score of 92-82. Trailing 9-6 in the early going, LaRon Wade (Chicago, IL/Farragut Academy) nailed a three from the left wing. The Cougars' full-court pressure then produced quick results as Walmer came up with a steal and went in for the uncontested layup that gave CUC an 11-9 lead. As the half reached its midway point, both teams found it harder to score. The Stars had the advantage on the glass, but the Cougars stayed in the hunt by going hard to the basket and drawing fouls. CUC shot 13-16 from the charity stripe including Walmer's 7-8. However, the Cougars shot just 31 percent for the half including a chilly 2-17 from outside. The Stars gained some momentum in the final minutes of the half and went to intermission leading the Cougars 43-37.
Walmer led CUC in the half with 15 points and came up with three of the Cougars' four steals. Dominican was led by their star guard Josh Mayberry, currently second in the NACC scoring race. Mayberry shot 8-13 from the field as part of a 17-point half, and he also pulled down seven rebounds as the Stars won the boards, 28-19.
The Stars scored the first two points of the second half to take their biggest lead of the night at eight, but the Cougars came back with scores by Walmer and Wade. Mayberry kept the Cougars at bay with a three from the corner, but Justin Mack (Bellwood, IL/Walther Lutheran) scored inside on consecutive trips down the floor. However, as CUC looked inside, Dominican began to heat up from the outside. The Stars hit a trio of triples over the first part of the half, and they eventually took their first double-digit lead, 62-52 with 11 minutes remaining. The Cougars clawed back as Walmer hit a rainbow three from the left side. CUC still trailed by nine a fewminutes later when they converted a rare five-point play - Walmer was fouled as Mitchell Pelissier (Puyallup, WA/Mount Rainer Lutheran) hit a three. Walmer made good on both free throws, and the visitors were within four points, 71-67. However, that was as close as the Cougars would get. The Stars were shining from the free-throw line as they connected on 17 of 21 in the second half for 81 percentÂ
Walmer recorded a career-high of 34 points on 9-20 shooting (wto threes) and 14-16 from the line. The junior also pulled down eight rebounds and six steals before fouling out in the final minute of the game. Pelissier added 21 points, five boards and four assists. However, the Cougars' efforts could not overcome Dominican's top tandem. Mayberry scored 32 points to go with 12 rebounds and five assists, and Robertson added 25 points and a game-high 16 rebounds (12 in the second half).Â
Concordia-Chicago (4-8, 4-4 NACC) will return home for games on Thursday and Saturday. The Thursday night game will match the Cougars against sixth-ranked, unbeaten Benedictine University at 7:00.
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