RIVER FOREST, Ill. -- After getting off to a hot start but falling behind late, the Concordia-Chicago Cougars out lasted the Dominican Stars to win an eventual overtime thriller, 103-92.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Scoring 103 points, tonight was the highest point total the Cougars have reached on the year. The last time CUC scored 100 or more points was on Jan. 3, 2018 in a 111-102 overtime loss to Wisconsin Lutheran College.
- Senior Mitch Pelissier had a career-high and program-high night en route to the victory. The Washington native had 40 points, along with three steals, four assists and eight rebounds. His 40 points is the first time a Cougar has scored such in over two decades.
- Freshman Landen Gladney reached a career-high with 25 points tonight. He also completed his double-double status for the 11th time this season and had double-digit rebounds for the 12th consecutive game.
- Hassan Basbous was key for CUC down the stretch, having 12 points, four assists and eight rebounds. His point total tonight matches a career-high and his assist total is a new career-high for the junior.
Pelissier kicked things off for the Cougars, making the team's first six points of the night, weeding through Dominican's tight defensive efforts.
CUC pulled ahead by as much as seven during the opening five minutes of play, but the Stars continued to answer back to any deficits through key play in the paint. Up 18-14, Gladney drained back-to-back layups and allowed a cushion for the Cougars' defense. Down the stretch, Pelissier once again showed his strength during his career night, driving through seemingly three Dominican defenders to drain the finger-rolled layup.
As the half progressed, Concordia-Chicago took on a lead as large as 13 points and would end the half up 45-36. The Cougars shot 48.72 percent, all while not making one of seven three-point attempts. In addition to CUC's on-point shooting, the team held the Stars to 36 percent shooting from the floor.
Despite the exciting first half, the Cougars got off to a slow start in the final frame and allowed the Stars to pull within just two by the 14:38 mark. Up 58-56, Gladney bulldozed his way through the post to bank in the layup and earn the and-one. After making the shot from the charity stripe, Gladney and the Cougars headed into the final 10 minutes of play with a solid five-point lead.
With 10:47 left to play, the Stars began to streak from beyond the arc and took hold of the lead for the first time all night. Pulling away by as much as six points, CUC had to buckle down from the free-throw line to keep the game at bay. Thanks to 15-20 shooting from the charity stripe, the Cougars were able to tie up the game at 88 apiece, and fend off a potential Dominican buzzer-beater to push the game into overtime.
From a combined scoring effort between Pelissier, Gladney and
Jalen Meeks, the Cougars were able to separate themselves by nine points throughout the first half of the overtime slate. From there, the Stars would struggle to keep things close with CUC as they were forced to foul to slow down the clock. Over the five minute stretch, the Cougars would ultimately prevail, taking the Division Street rivalry game by a score of 103-92.
