RIVER FOREST, Ill. — Heading down the street for the latest edition of the Division street rivalry, the Concordia University Chicago men's basketball team put together a gritty effort on Wednesday night to pick up their third straight NACC win. It was a come-from-behind win for CUC, overcoming a 13 point deficit in the first half and a five-point halftime deficit to pick up the 68-60 win.
Inside the Box Score
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Brent Hatten (Olney, Ill.) led the way off the bench, scoring 15 points on 6-8 shooting in 18 minutes.
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Landen Gladney (Chicago, Ill.) recorded 14 points, four steals, and five rebounds.
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Izak Ruddell (Saint Joseph, Mich.) had 12 points and five rebounds.
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CUC scored 42 of the 68 points in the paint.
The Cougars jumped out to a quick 9-5 lead with layups by Jalen Meeks (Aurora, Colo.) and Emanuel Wilson (Wheaton, Ill.). Dominican worked their way back, taking their first lead of the day at 12-11 on a jumper by Chris Daniels. The Stars continued to add on throughout the first half, building their lead to 13 points with 2:21 remaining in the first half.
CUC kept themselves in it late in the half, getting a three by Ruddell to cut the deficit back to ten. The Ruddell three got the lid off the basket for the Cougars, as they were able to close on an 8-0 run to cut the halftime deficit to 35-30.
The Cougars and Stars traded baskets early in the second half. CUC finally got on the run that they needed with 15:30 remaining in the half. Jacob Collicott (Lafayette, Ind.) hit a short jumper to cut the Dominican lead to two. Wilson followed with a three from the wing to give the Cougars the lead back. A pair of Hatten baskets continued the 9-0 run for the Cougars, giving CUC a 47-42 lead.
Dominican was able to get a little rhythm back offensively midway through the half, pulling back within two, but CUC put their foot on the gas, getting a three by Ruddell and a layup by
Tavarus Davis-Williams (Fox Lake, Ill.) to open the lead back up to seven.
The game never got closer than five again, with CUC opening up a double-digit lead with just over two minutes remaining when Ruddell turned a steal into a fastbreak layup on the other end. The Cougars then coasted to their third straight win, downing the Stars 68-60.
With the win, the Cougars improve to 6-6 overall and 4-3 in NACC play. Dominican falls to 1-12 overall and 0-7 in NACC play. CUC will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when Marian University makes the trip to River Forest. The opening tip is set for 4:15 pm. You can find links to coverage at cucougars.com/coverage. You can also keep up with the team on Twitter @CUC_menhoops.
