Box Score Jan. 2, 2016 - The Concordia Cougars' first game of the new year saw the Cougars' shooters stuck in the deep freeze for most of the day. Sadly, that resulted in a game decided early on as host Milwaukee School of Engineering bolted to a quick start and won handily by a score of 89-52 at the Kern Center on Saturday afternoon.sa

The MSOE Raiders came out quickly behind the lead of Austin Stueck, their All-American forward. Stueck drilled a three from the top of the key and then followed with a layup on the fast brealk. The
Raiders added another three and a free throw for a 9-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.  Justin Mack (Bellwood, IL/Walther Lutheran) finally got CUC on the board on a pick-and-roll pass from LaRon Wade (Chicago, IL/Farragut Academy) at the 16:21 mark, but MSOE remained hot on offense, particularly the three-point line, and their lead ballooned to 16-2 after five minutes. 

The Cougars began to claw back as Mitch Pelissier (Puyallup, WA/Mount Rainier Lutheran) scored on a pair of inside moves. Pelissier later added a third basket, but the Cougars were unable to get much else going. Late in the half, however, Justin Saar (Tracy, CA/Merrill F. West) connected for the Cougars' first two threes on consecutive trips down the floor. Still, CUC could not gain any consistency with an offensive rhythm, and MSOE carried a 51-24 lead into the half.

The Raiders shot a torrid 54 percent (20-37) for the half including 7-19 from downtown. Conversely, the Cougars were a chilly 28 percent (10-36) for the half, just 2-9 from the outside. Leading scorers for the half were MSOE's Stueck with 15 and CUC's Pelissier with 10. 

As the second half began, the Raiders focused their attack inside, although their three-point shooting remained hot. The Raiders opened with a 12-2 burst over the first 4:30. The remainder of the game saw the Cougars find some offense behind Mike Walmer (Orlando, FL/Orlando Christian) who scored 12 of his 14 points after halftime. However, the consistency was still lacking, and the Cougars were unable to mount a serious charge after the Raiders' opening salvo. CUC wound up with 31 percent shooting for the game on 22-71 and were just 5-25 from three-point range.

Pelissier finished with 15 points, followed by Walmer's 14 and Saar's nine. Stueck led the Raiders (6-4, 3-2 NACC) with 19, followed by Connor Patterson with 11.

The Cougars (3-6, 3-3 NACC) will return home to Geiseman Gymnasium where they will prepare for the Rockford University Regents on Wednesday, Jan. 6 at 5 p.m.