River Forest, Ill. — Fresh off their upset win over second-ranked Illinois Wesleyan, the Concordia University Chicago men's basketball team returned home for a conference matchup with Aurora University. The team continued to roll with a 76-63 victory, their seventh win in their last eight contests.
The momentum from Saturday's win carried over early on, as the Cougars jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first four minutes of action. Sophomore Emanuel Wilson (Wheaton, Ill.) was the main catalyst, scoring the first eight points before senior Jordan Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) knocked down a couple three's for the next six.
Wilson scored 11 first-half points with Matthews not far behind at eight. Senior Jalen Meeks (Aurora, Colo.) had nine points of his own after going 2-2 from beyond the arc. The trio combined for all seven of the Cougars' made three's in the first 20 minutes, shooting 7-12 between them.
The hot start was not enough to discourage the Spartans, who slowly chipped away at the lead until they pulled within two with just over a minute left in the half. The Cougars never let it get any closer, taking a 36-34 lead into the break.
Out of the break, the Cougars quickly worked the lead back up to six with buckets by Matthews and fellow senior Landen Gladney (Chicago, Ill.). The Spartans were persistent, eventually tying things up at 42 with just over 15 minutes to play.
Matthews once again had the answer, splashing home a three to spark a 9-0 CUC run. The lead reached double-digits yet again thanks to eight-straight Cougar points from Gladney.
Another three-pointer from Wilson stretched the lead to 14 with 9:17 to play. Meeks drilled a pair of free throws two possessions later and the lead was 15. It would never fall below 14 until the final 16 seconds of the game.
The Cougars looked every part of the resilient bunch they've been over the past month. Every time Aurora tried to claw their way back in down the stretch, CUC had an immediate answer. They out-rebounded the Spartans 44-33, leading to an 18-6 advantage in second half points, including 10-3 in the second half.
Inside the Box Score
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Wilson led all scorers with 17. He was 6-12 from the floor and 5-10 from deep.
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In addition to his 14 points, Matthews pulled in six rebounds and forced three steals.
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Gladney was in double-figures with 12 points to go along with three rebounds and three blocks.
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Meeks finished with 11 points, six rebounds, and two steals.
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Sophomore Justin Greenlee (Brown Deer, Wis.) continued his stretch of excellent play, leading the team with eight rebounds and six assists.
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Freshman Jacob Collicott (Lafayette, Ind.) provided a nice spark off the bench, scoring eight points, grabbing six boards, dishing out three assists, and forcing a pair of steals.
It's back on the road for the team this weekend as they head north of the border to take on the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Tip off is scheduled for 4:15 p.m., and coverage will be available on cucougars.com/coverage.
