LISLE, Ill. – It was the last game before Christmas for the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's basketball team. The Cougars (8-0, 5-0 NACC) traveled to Benedictine University (4-7, 2-3 NACC) in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) matchup. In the end, CUC prevailed 87-74 over the Eagles, and tied the 1978-79 team's record.
Inside the Box Score:
- Jordan Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) led CUC with 20 points, and extends his double-digit scoring streak to eight games.
- Emanuel Wilson (Wheaton, Ill.) (17 points), Brent Hatten (Olney, Ill.) (17 points), and Jacob Collicott (Lafayette, Ind.) (10 points) all reached double-digit point totals.
- Junior Justin Greenlee (Brown Deer, Wis.) set a new career-high with ten assists. He also scored nine points and pulled down four rebounds.
CUC jumped out to an early 5-0 lead on a
Brent Hatten three-pointer and
Emanuel Wilson jumper. The Eagles would slowly work their way back in with the help of early long-range shooting. A Brandon McCoy layup forced the Cougars to call a timeout and regroup, trailing 15-12.
Benedictine picked up speed and momentum shortly after a slam dunk from Andre Stokes, which made it 17-12. The Cougars relied on defense and quality shooting to remain within striking distance in the half. When it came down to scoring, CUC utilized their speed to break the Eagles' defense.
Jacob Collicott did just that with a shift up-and-under layup, to make it 27-24 Benedictine.
Paint scoring made a difference throughout the game. CUC finished the game with 44 paint points to Benedictine's 38. Hatten's And-1 with 3:26 remaining in the first half gave CUC something to build upon heading into the locker room.
CUC was able to cash in twice before the halftime buzzer.
Jordan Matthews floated one in from the paint to make it a one possession game. On the next possession,
Justin Greenlee hit a fade-away jumper in the paint with less than one second on the clock. At half, CUC 40-37.
The Cougars wasted no time pulling back in front in the second half. After a Wilson three to tie the game on the previous possession, Hatten sank one in from deep on the left wing, giving CUC their first lead since the 15:35 mark of the first half, 45-42.
From that point on, CUC put on a show. The 50-point half saw the team shoot 62.1% from the field in the second half, along with 54.5% from behind the three-point arch. This also included two alley-oops from Greenlee to Collicott and
William Bishop-Green (Chicago, Ill.).
CUC went on to win the game 87-74 to remain undefeated. The Cougars will not play until they travel to California for a pair of games. Their first game on their west coast trip will be Dec. 28 against California Lutheran University at 4 p.m. PST. Coverage of the game can be found at cucougars.com.
