DUBUQUE, IOWA. — The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's basketball team opened up their season with a non-conference matchup against Loras College. Traveling to Iowa, the Cougars were able to pick up their first win of the season by defeating the Duhawks, 98-88.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
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Jacob Collicott (Lafayette, Ind.) dominated the offense with a total of 29 points and 5 rebounds
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Jordan Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) followed behind with 16 points
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Justin Greenlee (Brown Deer, Wis.) led the team with five steals, five assists, and had 11 points on the night
Beginning their first game of the season, it was clear that the Cougars were going to have a tough competitor in the Duhawks. Greenlee started off the game by scoring the first point of the 2022-23 season with a layup to get the Cougars within one in the early score of the game. After a back and forth between the two teams, Brent Hatten (Olney, Ill.) broke through the defense to start giving the Cougars some momentum.
Both Hatten and Collicott started to see their opportunities to take advantage of the Duhawks defense. With assistance from Greenlee, they both had multiple connections where they brought the Cougars in front with a score of 16-12. Both William Bishop-Green (Chicago, Ill.) and Matthews entered the conversation as they made some killer plays to truly show the Cougar domination on the court.
Coming out of the first half, the Cougars had amassed a lead of 54-44. With the Duhawks right on their tail, the energy shifted to truly show the speed of CUC. Collicott continued his rampage of points as he brought in the first points in the second half for the Cougars. Bishop-Green was showing off the moves as he had, not one, but two plays that were huge momentum shifters in the Cougars favor.
CUC began to pull away with a score of 78-58, but Loras decided to put on a full court press and really put the pressure on the Cougars. After a couple of Cougar miscues and fouls, it was 86-74 with the Duhawks closing in. With a huge shot, Kieran Heller (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) was able to deliver a three-pointer which helped drive the Cougar lead forward. A big pass down the court to Emanuel Wilson (Wheaton, Ill.) nailed in a big point for CUC and finished off this game. The Cougars defeat the Duhawks with a final score of 98-88.
The Cougars will be opening up at home this weekend for the first time this season. Saturday, they take on Knox College for a 4 p.m. tip off. Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage
