Feb. 2, 2016 - The Concordia-Chicago men's basketball team used a trio of high-scoring performances Tuesday evening to end an eight-game skid. Mike Walmer (Orlando, FL/Orlando Christian), Adam Castro (Chicago, IL/Guerin Prep) and  Kyle Hoffman (Manitowoc, WI/Lincoln) each scored in the twenties to lead CUC to an 86-80 victory against Maranatha Baptist University in Watertown, WI.

Prospects of leaving Watertown with a win did not appear good in the early going as the Crusaders fired out to a 9-0 lead. But Hoffman's three at the 17:00 mark put the visitors on the board and began an answering run. Hoffman followed his three with a steal and layup, and another steal moments later led to a three by Castro. Walmer was then fouled at the 15:10 mark and cashed in two free throws to give the Cougars a 10-9 lead. Hoffman added his second three and the Cougars' third of the run to make it 13 unanswered points after MBU's opening streak.

Leading 20-16 midway through the half, the Cougars struck for a 9-0 run, courtesy of Justin Saar (Tracy, CA/Merrill F. West). The junior hit three consecutive triple within a 1:49 span to pump the lead up to 13 points. Maranatha Baptist fought back and closed to within 35-32 with 2:30 to play, but the Cougars had one more first-half run in them. Castro nailed three of his five threes in a closing 14-0 run as the Cougars vaulted to a 49-32 lead at the intermission.

The Cougars shot a torrid 10-19 (53 percent) from three-point range for the half, 16-31 (52 percent) overall. The Crusaders tried to stay in the hunt with 12 of 29 (41 percent) but managed only two of nine from downtown. 

Three minutes into the second half, CUC pushed its margin up to 20 when Walmer's trey made it a 57-37 game. This time, however, it was the Crusaders' turn to go on a tear, as they went on a 10-0 run to halve CUC's lead. Finally, at the 13:16 mark, Hoffman ended the charge with a shot from downtown to restore order at 60-47.

With under five minutes to play, the Cougars still held a 78-67 lead as Hoffman drained the final of his six threes. However, MBU made a last-ditch effort to catch CUC as David Wenthold fired up three of his seven three-pointers for the game. His last one brought the home team within 83-77 with 39 seconds remaining. Saar split a pair of free throws, but Clayton Morrison worked inside for a three-point play with 14 ticks to play, and MBU was suddenly within four. However, the Cougars stayed calm and weathered the storm as Castro and Walmer hit free throws to close out a well-deserved victory.
 
Walmer led all scorers with 24 points on 7-16 from the field (two threes) and 8-12 at the free-throw line. Castro and Hoffman each hit career highs with Castro scoring 21 (5-10 on threes) and Hoffman 20 (6-10 threes). "Adam is taking advantage of his increased playing time and is really finding his niche," said CUC head coach Randy Rogers. "Kyle has filled a lot of roles for us this season, but I had a talk with him before the game about not being afraid to step up on offense, and he really took that to heart tonight!"

The Cougars (5-15) will return home to take on Marian University on Saturday at 2:00 in Geiseman Gymnasium. CUC will go for the season sweep of the Sabres, having defeated them 88-74 on Jan. 9 in Fond du Lac, WI.