KENOSHA, WIS. -- Taking on the Division II Parkside Rangers in an exhibition matchup, the Concordia University Chicago Cougars fell 76-68.
INSIDE THE BOX
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Jordan Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) led the team with 21 points and eight rebounds finishing his sixth straight game in double-digits.
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Emanuel Wilson (Wheaton, Ill.) followed behind with ten points and seven rebounds.
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Jacob Collicott (Lafayette, Ind.) and Brent Hatten (Olney, Ill.) followed behind with eight points and three rebounds and seven points and six rebounds, respectively.
The Cougars started the game by winning the tip and scoring the first bucket off a jumper from Collicott. A three from Wilson set the tone as the Cougars took the lead 5-4, letting the Rangers know this game would be competitive.
Going back and forth with the Rangers, threes from Elijah White (Sheboygan, Wis.)Â and Kieran Heller (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) put the Cougars on top of the Rangers with 13 minutes to play in the half.
After falling behind by as much as nine late in the first half, the Cougars were forced to battle back. A fast break layup from Collicott followed by back-to-back buckets from William Bishop-Green (Chicago, Ill.) and Matthews brought the Cougars within one at the end of the half.
Coming into the second half, the Cougars had to find the fight to continue their battle. An early steal from Collicott followed by a transition layup from Hatten gave the Cougars the lead yet again.Â
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As the Rangers turned up the heat, the Cougars were forced to find a way to get on the board. A big-time three from Hatten turned the page as the Cougars would fire back to stay in the game. Another three from White brought the game within six.
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Another Hatten three would cut the Rangers lead to four with less than a minute to go, but the Cougars couldn't stop the roaring Rangers offense resulting in a tough 76-68 loss.
"We went into that game with the idea that if we could speed them up and take them out of what they do and keep it close then we would have a shot in the end," Head Coach
Steve Kollar noted in regards to the tough Division II opponent. "They are so efficient offensively and we knew we could not let them be comfortable. Offensively we need to generate some great shots early because against a D2 team you aren't going to be able to just go 1v1 and have a side advantage. I thought we had some great offensive possessions and we really guarded our tail off for 40 minutes. Came down to a couple of loose balls and a few empty possessions that went the other way otherwise it could have been a different game down the stretch. We love our group. We are connected and relentless and we will continue to keep getting better."
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The Cougars will continue NACC play this Saturday as they take on Marian University at home at 2:00 pm. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
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