Jan. 7, 2017 - The Cougar men returned home Saturday afternoon seeking their first win in the new year against Marian University. The Cougars, looking to snap a two game losing streak, ran into a hot team in the Sabres, who were on a three-game winning streak of their own. In the end, it was the Sabres' late free-throw shooting and defense that resulted in an 85-73 win over the Cougars. 

The first half featured many lead changes and balanced scoring from both teams. Marian went on a quick 8-0 run that pushed their lead to 20-13 midway through the first half. Shortly after that, Concordia-Chicago made a run of their own as senior guard Mike Walmer hit a big three to end the Sabres' momentum.  Threes by Justin Saar and Mitch Pelissier kept the Cougars in the game, but the Cougars committed three of their nine first-half turnovers in the final three minutes as Marian took a 38-31 lead into halftime. 

Early in the second half, the Sabres managed to get out to their largest lead of the game at 10, but the Cougars did not quit.  Sophomore Israel Dosie sparked the Cougars off the bench with his defense and quickness that led to a big three-point play to cut the deficit to seven. Dosie continued to carry CUC on his back during this stretch with back-to-back layups to give the Cougars a 51-50 lead with 10 minutes to go. The next five minutes featured five lead changes and two ties. During those five minutes,Jarek Hotwagner had the hot hand in the paint with an easy four points,mixed in with a Kyle Hoffman three that saw the Cougars trail by only one with under five to go. But the following minutes proved costly for the Cougars as turnovers mounted up. The Cougars were unable to get stops on defense, and empty possessions on the offensive end allowed Marian to take advantage. In a three minute span, the Sabres went on a 14-1 run and did not look back from there as they closed out with an eventual 12-point win.

Pelissier finished with 15 points (5-12 FG), 6 rebounds, and 5 assists to lead CUC. Hotwagner netted a double-double with 13 points (6-12 FG) and 12 rebounds. 

The Cougars overall shot 43 percent (27-63) from the field and 42 percent (8-19) from threes compared to the Sabres' 49 percent (30-61) from the field and 31 percent (5-16) from threes. In the end, it was the Sabres' free-throw advantage (32-15) and turnover margin (plus-five) that the Cougars could not overcome.

Concordia-Chicago (2-9, 1-7 NACC) returns to action Tuesday night as they take on Division Street rival Dominican University as part of the River Forest Rivalry Cup. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.