Dec. 15, 2018 – The Concordia-Chicago Cougars traveled to Benedictine University this afternoon for the first of two battles this season. The game was one of the more frustrating ones for CUC this season, as they started each half in fine form, only to hit a wall over the latter portion of each half. In the end, the Eagles prevailed by a final score of 85-65.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Landen Gladney's string of double-doubles to start the season came to an end at seven. The freshman pulled down 13 rebounds but was held to just five points.
• The Cougars' 65 points were a season low.
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Mitch Pelissier led CUC in scoring with 15 points.
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Jalen Meeks scored 12 points and had a team-leading four steals. He was one of three Cougars with three assists.
Returning to the lineup after missing the last few games,
Justin Schwarz announced his presence with a red-hot start. With CUC holding a 1-0 lead on an instant technical foul shot, Schwarz finished a fast break started by a
Landen Gladney rebound for a 3-0 lead and hit a three on the next trip down. Graebner's two threes matched Schwarz's early scores, but Schwarz scored inside and then hit two free throws a minute later for an early 12-10 lead.
The Cougars kept up a fast pace as
Jalen Meeks fed Gladney for an easy layup, and
Mitch Pelissier later stole the ball and went the length of the court for a layup-and-one. Meeks' jumper later gave CUC a 21-15 lead, but the Cougars hit a dry spell after that, and Benedictine came back with a 10-0 run to take a four-point lead with 7:29 left in the half.
A Concordia-Chicago timeout did not stop the bleeding, Benedictine went on to score eight more unanswered before Gladney's layup at the 5:00 mark finally halted the run. However, that would end CUC's scoring for the half as Benedictine tallied the final seven points for a 40-23 lead at the break. The Cougars were 8-16 from the field until Meeks' last basket but only one for their final 22 of the half.
The Cougars turned the switch back on to start the second half. A basket and three by Meeks, and a three-point play by
Jamal Turner brought the Cougars within 12, and they continued as a Pelissier trey and steal and layup by Meeks forced the Benedictine coach to burn a second timeout in the first few minutes of the half.
Pelissier's jumper at the 11:45 mark had CUC within 56-49, but once again, a Cougar dry spell came at an inopportune time. They would go the next six minutes without a field goal, while the Eagles would build their lead up to 20. Benedictine was in the bonus midway through the half, and their prowess at the line was a factor as they went 20-23 for the second half.
Despite the Cougars' hot shooting stretches early in each half, they finished just 33 percent for the game on 24 of 73. The Eagles finished at 44 percent on 26 of 59. Benedictine also was 26 of 33 (79 percent) at the charity stripe while CUC was just 12 of 19 (63 percent).
The Cougars (2-6, 2-5 NACC) will fly to Washington on Sunday and play two games, the first on Monday night in Tacoma when they face the University of Puget Sound. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Chicago time.
