Jan. 16, 2016 - The Concordia-Chicago men's basketball team welcomed the Milwaukee School of Engineering to Geiseman Gymnasium as part of a busy day of basketball. The Cougars were looking to avenge a loss to the Raiders from two weeks ago, and CUC was in a position to accomplish that goal for much of the game. However, a seven-minute dry spell early in the second half was enough to let the Raiders take control of the game, and they held on to beat CUC by a final score of 78-67.

The visitors jumped out to an 11-7 lead, led by their preseason All-American, forward Austin Stueck. However, the Cougars came back as LaRon Wade (Chicago, IL/Farragut Academy) drilled a three from the left corner and then hit two free throws to give CUC a 12-11 lead. The two teams traded leads throughout the remainder of the half, with the Cougars' three-point shooting fueling their offense. Rodney Castor (Fort Myers, FL/H.S.), Kyle Hoffman (Manitowoc, WI/Lincoln) and Justin Saar (Tracy, CA/Merrill F. West) all finding the range from the outside. Saar's three came with 2:36 remaining and pulled the Cougars to within 31-30. However, Stueck and Alex Darville combined for the Raiders' five points of the half while the Cougars managed just Mitchell Pelissier's (Puyallup, WA/Mount Rainier Lutheran) layup. The Raiders went into the break, leading the Cougars 36-32.

The first seven minutes of the second half would be the game-changer. Connor Patterson's layup and Stueck's three put the lead at nine. DeAires Blackwell (Chicago, IL/St. Rita) split a pair of free throws, but Tegan Miles scored inside to give MSOE its first double-digit lead of the game. Collin Seubert then knocked a pair of threes over the next few minutes, and the Raiders' lead sprung to 49-33. Meanwhile, the Cougars missed their first nine shots from the field before Pelissier hit a jumper from the left side at the 12:51 mark.

The visitors' lead grew to 18 before Pelissier drilled a three. Castor then returned to the game and gave the Cougars an instant lift. Castor knocked down a three and also added a steal and layup. CUC kept coming as Pelissier cashed in another triple, and Castor hit a free throw with 4:06 left to pull CUC within eight at 61-53. But Patterson scored the next five points including a three-point play, and MSOE would knock down their free throws over the final miniutes to keep the Cougars at bay. The Raiders were good on 16 of 21 from the line in the second half, 18 of 25 (72 percent) for the game.

Stueck led the Raiders (9-6, 6-4 NACC) with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Patterson had 17 points and seven rebounds, and Seubert scored 15, chiefly on the strengh of four threes. Pelissier led the Cougars (4-10, 4-7 NACC) with 19 points while Saar, Wade and Castor all chipped in with 11 points, Castor's total marking a season-high.

The Cougars will return to action on Wednesday night when they travel to Rockford University.