Box Score RIVER FOREST, Ill. – Clinched! Concordia University Chicago men's basketball (3-10) earns a trip to the 2021 NACC Conference Tournament with a 70-59 victory over rival Dominican University (1-7) on Friday night.
The Cougars trailed by as many as nine points early in the first half and went into the break down by two, despite holding the Stars to below 30 percent from the field and just 1-6 from deep. CUC played stifling defense all night, resulting in the lowest opponent's scoring total of the season. The major reason for Dominican's first half lead was shooting 13-14 from the charity stripe.
The narrative was completely flipped in the second half, with the Cougars making 14-18 free throw attempts, including several crucial ones down the stretch that ultimately iced the game. The defense continued to hold their own, and Dominican got to the line just six times in the final 20 minutes.
Jordan Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) again led the Cougars with 23 points on the night. It is the seventh time the junior eclipsed the 20-point mark this season. Fellow junior Izak Ruddell (Saint Joseph, Mich.) grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds to go along with 12 points on the way to his first double-double of the season.
The other Cougars to score in double-figures were sophomore Brent Hatten (Olney, Ill.) with 14 and freshman Emanuel Wilson (Wheaton, Ill.) with 11. Hatten was second on the team with eight boards and Wilson was an efficient 4-8 from the floor.
In the final weekend of his career at Geiseman, senior Kenta Jones (Bensenville, Ill.) made a pair of crucial three's from the corner when the team needed them most.
The regular season will wrap up tomorrow night with the two rivals squaring off once again at Geiseman. The game is scheduled to tip at 5 p.m. and a stream will be available on the
CUC Athletic's Youtube channel. The live stream will begin 15 minutes prior to tipoff as the six Cougar seniors will be honored for their contributions to the program.
