River Forest, Ill. — Concordia Chicago men's basketball (2-9) kicks off their final week of the regular season by welcoming the Duhawks of Loras College (5-3) to Geiseman for a non-conference contest. 

The Cougars come into the game winning two of their last three. A big reason for the recent success has been the return of sophomore guard Brent Hatten (Olney, Ill.). Hatten scored double-figures in each of his three games, including back-to-back double-doubles against Aurora over the weekend. The team responded well to having him back on the floor, with their three highest scoring performances of the season coming in the last three games. 

"We said that if we could continue to grow and improve every day then we would be our best down the stretch," Kollar said. "We are getting to that point and we are starting to show signs of that given that we are defending better, sharing and valuing the ball more and rebounding at a more consistent level."

They have indeed been rebounding at a more consistent level, especially on the offensive end, where they edged Aurora by a combined total of 22-13 over the weekend. The surge in offensive rebounding created more chances for an offense that started to hit their stride thanks to selfless play and big-time shots. The sharing and valuing of the ball can be seen in the team's assist numbers. The Cougars averaged just over 10 APG in their first eight games, a number that climbed to nearly 19 in the previous three. 

"We have had guys continue to step up in their roles, leadership has taken ownership and that is what you expect to happen as the year goes on," Kollar said. "We have a great opportunity in front of us and we control our own destiny and that is all you can ask for. We expect to be playing our best basketball and be most connected down the stretch and we are definitely getting closer to doing that." 

Leadership comes in many forms for the Cougars, who found success using a blend of veteran and freshmen players. Juniors Jordan Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) and Izak Ruddell (Saint Joseph, Mich.) are the top two scorers on the team, with Matthews doubling as the leading assist man and Ruddell the leading rebounder. The game tomorrow is sure to mean a little more to Matthews, who played his freshman and sophomore seasons for the Duhawks.

The rest of the top five scorers on the team are all freshmen. Emanuel Wilson (Wheaton, Ill.), Justin Greenlee (Brown Deer, Wisc.) and William Bishop-Green (Chicago, Ill.) each made immediate impacts in their first year as college players. Greenlee, who has been a primary ball-handler for much of the season, is second on the team in both rebounds and assists. 

The Cougars' quest for their third win in four tries will tip off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night. As always, a link to the stream can be found on the CUC Athletic's Youtube channel.