Jan. 17, 2017 - The Cougar men came back home Tuesday night looking to start a winning streak at Geiseman Gymnasium. Despite improved play, the Cougars were coming off some tough losses to Benedictine and MSOE. Concordia-Chicago hosted the Rockford Regents, who have had their share of mixed results on the season. Both teams came into tonight's game under .500 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, so both teams desperately needed a win to work their way back into a NACC tournament playoff spot.

Early in the first half, Rockford jumped out to a quick 11-4 lead as the Cougars could not get a stop on defense.  Rockford's Tony Diemer had a quick six points that CUC did not have an answer for.  The Cougars made a run themselves after a timeout. Sophomore guard Mitch Pelissier had the hot hand for the Cougars as he had a quick eight points to bring CUC to a lead of 20-18. Midway through the first half, both teams went back and forth trading baskets until Rockford stiffened up their defense, allowing them to retake an eight-point lead.  Rockford's big man Zach Wallace owned the paint as he used his big frame to take advantage inside. CUC's junior forward Rodrigo Nava tried to keep the Cougars in the game as he was perfect from the field, hitting his first six shots from the field, but the Cougars were not getting any stops on defense. The inability to get stops, coupled with Rockford's 54 percent shooting, gave the Regents a 52-36 lead heading into halftime.

In the second half, CUC and Rockford were exchanging back and forth, and the Cougars couldn't cut into the Regents lead.  CUC guard Israel Dosie's and forward Jarek Hotwagner's tenacity on the offensive and defensive end proved dividends as Dosie managed to hit two threes and Hotwagner heated up from the floor to cut the Regents' lead to 64-52. The Regents halted the Cougars' momentum as they jumped out to a 16-point lead, led by Wallace dominating the boards and paint area. Concordia-Chicago managed to go on another run, highlighted by the Kyle Hoffman show as he hit three threes to cut the Regent lead to nine with just over three minutes to play. Within the final couple minutes, the Cougars had opportunities close to the rim, but couldn't capitalize to cut into the lead. Rockford managed to get stops on the defensive end and hit their free throws to win by the final score of 94-84.

The Cougar leaders on the night were Hotwagner withanother double-double of 18 points (9-17) and 17 rebounds, and Nava (8-11) with 18 points and four rebounds. Rockford was led by three players - Wallace had 31 points (13-24) and 19 rebounds, Diemer had 22 points (9-23) and five rebounds, and freshman Ben Weber had 21 points (7-16) and eight rebounds. 

The Cougars (3-12, 2-10 NACC) return to action Saturday afternoon as they host Lakeland University in an NACC matchup. Tip off is set for 4:15 p.m.