RIVER FOREST, Ill. -- In another contest that came down to the wire for Concordia-Chicago, the Cougars managed to fend off their opponent this time, taking down the MSOE Raiders, 89-81 in overtime fashion. With tonight's win, CUC snaps a six-game losing streak and picks up their seventh win of the year, marking the most wins in a single season since the 2014-15 campaign.
Turning Point:
- Despite leading by as many as 11 points during the second half, the Raiders quickly cut that lead to just one, after a 12-2 run with six minutes to play. Over the final six minutes of regulation time, CUC and MSOE would exchange leads four times, but the Cougars continued to rally back thanks to two consecutive three-point baskets from senior Neil O'Donnell.
Inside the Box Score:
- Senior Raushaun Amos led the way for the Cougars tonight, producing 19 points and 10 rebounds, marking the second double-double of his Cougar career. Amos was clutch down the stretch for CUC, as he hit four big three-pointers throughout the night, including one during overtime that pulled Concordia-Chicago within three of the Raiders.
- Izak Ruddell had another complete night for CUC, as the sophomore had 10 points with three assists, three steals and one block. Ruddell shot 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, as he continues to lead the NACC in three-point percentage.
- O'Donnell had one of the best all-around performances of his four-year career, as the senior guard scored 12 points, just one shy of his career best, and grabbed six boards. As regulation began to expire, O'Donnell his two huge three-pointers from the left elbow and kept Concordia-Chicago in the race to the finish.
- Freshman Brent Hatten had another solid night too, as he scored 10 points, picked up six boards, three steals, two assists and one block. His lone block came with less than five seconds on the clock, in regulation, that stopped the Raiders from scoring the game-winning basket.
- As a team, CUC dished 16Â assists and scored 28 points in the paint.
- On the year, Concordia-Chicago is now 2-4 in games that have a scoring margin of three points, or less, in the final two minutes of regulation time. The two games CUC has won of those six have both come when the Cougars have forced an overtime frame.
Quick Recap:
- The Cougars got off to a hot start today, thanks to Amos draining back-to-back three pointers that startled the Raiders' transition defense, and gave CUC an early 6-0 lead.
- Hatten got into the mix a little while later, and scored a deep bucket of his own that allowed the Cougars to extend their lead to an arm's length, at 13-6.
- With nine minutes to go in the half, Concordia-Chicago continued to remain comfortably in the driver's seat, as Xeo Golding picked up a defensive rebound and allowed Landen Gladney to kiss the layup off the glass.
- Just after pushing their lead to 21-14, the Raiders turned around and went on a 7-2 that caught up to CUC's lead, trailing just 23-21 with five minutes to go.
- With three minutes left, MSOEÂ capitalized on back-to-back layups and took their first lead of the day at 31-30.
- With one minute to go, Gladney scored another layup, before Hatten picked up the steal and drained a three-pointer that gave the Cougars a nice 37-31 point lead.Â
- MSOE would score just once more before the half ended, leaving CUC with the four-point, 37-33 lead.
- The Raiders scored first opening up the half, and tied the game up at 37 apiece.
- Despite the Raiders making things close, Dewayne Burns Jr. put the Cougars back on top, thanks to two steals, a fastbreak layup and helping on a Ruddell corner three-pointer, which gave CUC another solid six point lead with under 15 to go.
- With 10:57 on the clock, another Golding defensive board turned into a layup from Amos that pushed the Cougars to a 55-44 advantage. With this lead, CUC now had their largest lead of the night.
- The cushioned score would not last long, however, as from the Amos basket, MSOE went on their game-changing 12-2 run that brought them back within one point of Concordia-Chicago.
- As the clock expiring drew nearer, the Cougars trailed by two with two minutes to go. Thankfully, O'Donnell came up with one of his clutch three-pointers, and handed CUC back a 72-71 lead.Â
- While the Raiders tied things up at 73 apiece, they had a chance to win it with five seconds remaining. Driving to the basket, Hatten had other plans in mind and came up with the huge block and rebound, preserving the score and forcing the overtime period.
- MSOE opened the first half of overtime on a run and took hold of an 80-74 lead.
- Amos popped off another three with 2:49 left on the clock that cut the deficit down to three. Less than a minute later, Amos would once again drain a three and make it a one-point, 81-80 game.Â
- With 1:10 to go, Ruddell came up with the steal and dished it off to O'Donnell who sunk the fast break layup to give the Cougars an established, 84-81 overtime lead.Â
- From there, the Raiders would struggle to piece together offense, as CUC closed out the game to win it 89-81.
Up Next:
- CUC's six-game homestand will conclude Tuesday night at 7 p.m. when the Cougars take on Lakeland University inside Geiseman Gymnasium.Â
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