RIVER FOREST, Ill. -- The Concordia-Chicago men's basketball team won an exciting match up with the Marian Sabres this evening, in their highest scoring affair this year, downing the NACC opponent 98-83.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Freshman Landen Gladney continues to be stellar for the Cougars, tabbing his fourth-consecutive double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. The rookie is off to the most successful collegiate start in school history.
- Three other Cougars scored in double-digits tonight, in addition to Gladney, with Jalen Meeks (23), Mitch Pelissier (15) and Justin Schwarz (10) producing for CUC's offense.
- Meeks' 23 points was the game-high on the night.
- As a team, Concordia-Chicago netted 58 points from inside the paint and shot 55.9 percent overall.
The Cougars came out of the gates electric, pulling ahead with a comfortable lead early on in the match up. By the 12-minute mark, junior
Neil O'Donnell drained a three-pointer to add cushion to CUC's lead and make it a 15-8 lead.
Five minutes later, senior
Israel Dosie, pulled up off a Sabre defender to net the fadeaway jumper and give CUC the nine-point advantage.
After Dosie's bucket,
Jamal Turner drove to the paint and gave the Cougars breathing room with a double-digit point lead. Turner would be clutch for CUC all night, eventually contributing to nine points and two steals.
With 2:35 to go in the first, Dosie earned a defensive rebound and dished the ball off to a streaking Turner. Off the fast break, Turner banked in the layup and gave CUC its then biggest lead of the night.
Heading into the second half of play, the Cougars held Marian at a distance, with a strong 46-32 lead.
Concordia-Chicago continued to lay on the pressure, once again commanding a 17-point lead with 15 minutes to go in regulation. Chicago native Ladney banked in a shot while being fouled under the basket and converted the three-point play to give CUC a 20-point lead.
The Cougars put the pedal to the floor throughout the remainder of the game, and lead the Sabres by as much as 27 points. To close out an exciting home win, junior
Richard Rapp grabbed a defensive board and assist to a
Cade Mousel three-pointer. Mousel's three would solidify a 98-83 CUC victory.
The Cougars return to play on Saturday against Edgewood at 4:15 p.m. CUC welcomes the Eagles to Geiseman Gymnasium, hoping to improve to 3-1 in conference play.
