Looking to rebound after their first loss of the season, the Concordia University Chicago men's basketball team (8-2, 5-0) concluded their winter break California trip with a matchup against Whittier College (4-7, 0-2). The night ended with a Whittier victory, as the Cougars fell to the Poets, 87-83.
Inside the Box Score
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Jacob Collicott (Lafayette, Ind.) led the Cougars in points with 19. The sophomore also added a team-leading eight rebounds.
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William Bishop-Green (Chicago, Ill.) scored 18 points, going three-for-four from beyond the arc.
- Emanuel Wilson (Wheaton, Ill.), Kieran Heller (Whitefish Bay, Wis.), and Barcus Jackson Jr. (Belleville, Ill.) also reached double-digit points with 12, 12, and 11 respectively.
First Half
Concordia got on the board off a strong drive to the rim from Bishop-Green to pull CUC within one of Whittier, 3-2.
The Cougars soon took the lead off a Collicott layup, 10-9. Leads were then traded back and forth, highlighted by a Jackson Holzheimer (Sheboygan, Wis.) three-ball.
With the game tied 21 points apiece, the Poets put some distance between them and Concordia, building a six-point lead, 29-23. CUC used a Heller three to pull within two, 33-31. However, a 10-3 run from Whittier boosted the lead to 43-34.
The Cougars responded with their own run of 10-4, capped off by a last second make from Wilson. After 20 minutes, the score stood at 47-44 in favor of the Poets.
Second Half
The defenses took charge in the early goings of half two, as the two squads would only combine for 10 points in the first 6:25 of the half. Another three-pointer from Heller would give Concordia some momentum, which they rode to cut the deficit down to two, 59-57.
The difference in points would stay in the 2-5 range until a Wilson jumper with 10:14 to go in regulation gave CUC their first lead of the half. A pair of made free-throws from Whittier's Kunal Bagga gave the lead right back to the Poets.
Whittier saw their lead grow to nine at one point, leading the Cougars 80-71 with 5:30 left in regulation. Over the next four minutes, Concordia chipped away at the Poets's lead, with a Collicott finish punctuating a 9-1 run and pulling CUC within one, 81-80.
However, a five-point run from Whittier put the deficit back at six, and a Wilson three proved too little too late; the scoreboard read 87-83 when the clock struck zero, with the Poets claiming victory.
Conference play resumes this Tuesday, Jan. 3, when the Cougars travel to Plymouth, Wisconsin, to take on Lakeland University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m., and coverage can be found at
cucougars.com, as well as the team's Twitter,
@cuc_menhoops.
