Jan. 9, 2016 - The Concordia-Chicago men's basketball team traveled north to take on Marian University this afternoon in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play this afternoon. The Cougars put together arguably their finest 40 minutes of the season today, following up a strong first half with an even better second half in defeating the Sabres by a final score of 88-74.
Two threes by Marian's Alex Stecker got the home team out to a fast 6-1 lead. Freshman Reggie Roemer then scored the Sabres' next six as Marian captured a 12-3 lead after just three minutes. Mitch Pelissier (Puyallup, WA/Mount Rainer Lutheran) scored a couple of early baskets for CUC before Mike Walmer (Orlando, FL/Orlando Christian) knocked down the Cougars' first three of the day. Justin Saar (Tracy, CA/Merrill F. West) followed a few moments later with a three from the corner, and Pelissier hit his second triple the next time down to bring CUC within 21-18. Marian remained hot in the early going with 10-13 shooting, 6-8 from threes and 32-21 lead nearing the midway point of the half. However, the Cougars heated up from the outside as well, and threes by LaRon Wade (Chicago, IL/Farragut Academy) and Walmer forced the Sabres to burn a timeout at the 8:38 mark, Marian leading 34-27. Walmer cranked up a couple more threes, standing at 5-6 from downtown as the Cougars got within a single point at 34-33. But the Sabres remained in the lead as they scored the next five points. Concordia-Chicago remained persistent as Pelissier scored in close. Rodney Castor (Fort Myers, FL/H.S.) then drove the offense for a few turns, hitting a pair of free throws and a floater in the lane. Following a timeout, the Cougars continued on the prowl as Blackwell split a pair of free throws, giving CUC its first lead of the game at 40-39 with four minutes remaining. Unfortunately for CUC, they would go scoreless for the rest of the half. The Sabres closed out the half on an 8-0 run and took a 47-40 lead at the intermission. Just as Marian came out smoking to start the game, CUC did the same in the second half. Walmer and Wade each scored four points as part of an opening 8-0 run as the Cougars stole back a 48-47. From that point on, the teams exchanged leads for a spell. Wade remained hot as he scored 10 points over the first 10 minutes including a long three that gave CUC a 60-55 lead.
Leading 62-61, Saar scored inside twice as the visitors kicked the lead up to five. The lead was still at five at the 5:30 mark when Kyle Hoffman (Manitowoc, WI/Lincoln) nailed a three from the left wing. Following a Sabres' turnover, Saar connected from the right side as CUC grabbed a double-digit lead at 74-63. Down the stretch, the Cougars' defense limited the Sabres' turnovers and did an excellent job in forcing turnovers. Walmer tossed in a season-high 25 points, shooting 9-17 including four three-pointers. Pelissier and Wade added 18 points each, with Wade recording his career-high in celebrating his first start of the season. Saar shot 4-5 en route to a 12-point game and also contributed a solid defensive game.
While CUC head coach Randy Rogers acknowledged the Cougars' good play in the first half despite trailing by seven, "I felt that we weren't getting to a lot of loose balls. We needed to put forth a more determined effort in the second half. Our work paid off, we got off to a great start in the second half, and we saw it through to the end. This was a great victory that we took away from here."
The Cougars (4-7, 4-4 NACC) will return to action on Tuesday night when they play local rival Dominican University at DU's Igini Sports Forum.
