Jan. 6, 2016 -  The Concordia-Chicago men's basketball team continued their stretch  of play against high-powered opposition as they welcomed Rockford University to Geiseman Gymnasium this evening. The Regents entered play this evening with three of the top ten scorers in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, but the Cougars gave the visitors fits for most of the game before finally succumbing by a final score of 88-76.

The Cougars came ready to play tonight as they played one of their better first halves of the season. Trailing 4-2, Mike Walmer (Orlando, FL/Orlando Christian) drilled a three after Mitch Pelissier (Puyallup , WA/Mount Rainier Lutheran) had blocked a Regents' shot on the other end. Pelissier scored on the fast break moments later, and that was followed by a sharp play by freshman Daeshaun Credit (Dolton, IL/Thornton Township), who was making his first start of the season. Credit swiped the ball in the backcourt and converted it into a layup as CUC grabbed a 9-4 lead after just three minutes of play.

Rodney Castor (Fort Myers, FL/H.S.) kept the home team in the lead, coming in off the bench and scoring five quick points. However, Rockford stayed in the chase in the early going behind the play of 6'8" Zach Wallace, who scored six early points and presented an imposing figure on the boards.

Leading 22-20, the Cougars hit the Regents with a quick burst. Kyle Hoffman (Manitowoc, WI/Lincoln) knocked down a three, and Pelissier added two more buckets on the run. Rockford's Michael Murray broke the momentum briefly by splitting a pair of free throws, but Walmer came back with a jumper as CUC took their biggest lead of the night at 31-21.

Just as quickly as Concordia-Chicago opened the lead, Rockford responded with an 11-point run. Brandon Tyson gave the Regents a lift with some strong inside play, and Murray began to heat up as he hit two free throws to let Rockford reclaim the lead at 32-31. The two sides traded points for the remainder of the half, and Walmer's putback beat the buzzer to allow the teams to go to the locker rooms tied at 40-40.

The second half began with a 14-3 blitz by the Regents as Murray scored seven. However, the Cougars refused to go away. Justin Saar (Tracy, CA/Merrill F. West) pumped in a three, and strong inside play on the defensive end by DeAires Blackwell (Chicago, IL/St. Rita) and Justin Mack (Bellwood, IL/Walther Lutheran) enabled the Cougars to work their way back into it. Concordia-Chciago closed to within two points on a couple of occasions, the final time at 73-71 on Blackwell's jumper with 5:19 left. The Cougars' shooting down the stretch would betray them, however, as they managed just three more points, and the Regents were able to hold off the home team's final challenge.

Two of the Regents posted double-doubles in the winning effort. Murray shot 10-18 from the field (one three) and 10-14 from the line to finish with 31 points and 13 rebounds, both game-high marks. Wallace added 21points (9-13 FG, 3-6 FT) and 12 rebounds. Pelissier led the Cougars with 22 points and a career-high 12 rebounds while Walmer added 18 points and five rebounds.

Concordia-Chicago (3-7, 3-4 NACC) will travel to Fond du Lac, WI on Saturday to take on Marian University.