SEWARD, NEB. – In the closing game of the first day of the 70
th Concordia Invitational Tournament, the Concordia University Chicago Cougars fell short of the host Concordia University Nebraska Bulldogs 89-70.
FIRST HALF
Despite the Bulldogs scoring first, the Cougars retaliated with quick back-to-back jumpers from
Jordan Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) gave the Cougars their only lead of the day. After the Bulldogs went on a six-zero run they jumped ahead and never looked back. The Cougars cut the lead back down to two with 17 minutes to play in the half, which would be their smallest deficit of the half.
Letting the Bulldogs dominate from the perimeter as they shot 50% from the three-point line the Cougars had to find other ways to battle back.
William Bishop-Green (Chicago, Ill.) secured two of his seven first half points off a driving layup right down the middle while a three from
Barcus Jackson Jr. (Belleville, Ill.) cut the lead back down to four with less than 13 minutes to play in the half. As CUNE continued to climb and forced CUC into a timeout, the Cougars had to find ways to battle back. Another layup from Matthews followed by a bucket from Bishop-Green kept the first-half trend of back and forth run. Finally a massive three from Matthews paired with two consecutive forced turnovers gave the Cougars some more momentum.
Following Matthews' three,
Justin Greenlee (Brown Deer, Wis.) found his way to the paint to add two while
Tavarus Davis-Williams (Fox Lake, Ill.) would add a triple himself. Another bucket from the paint from Greenlee would retaliate and force the Bulldogs to a timeout after dropping the deficit back down to two once again.
The timeout proved to be a second wind for the Bulldogs as they jumped out on a 8-0 run before a three from Wilson would break the dry spell. A jumper from
Emanuel Wilson (Wheaton, Ill.) within the last minute of the half would leave the Cougars trailing by ten after the first 20 minutes of play. Matthews picked up 11 first half points while Jackson Jr. picked up four rebounds.
SECOND HALF
Coming into the back half of play, the Bulldogs took charge out of the gate. They extended their ten point lead to 15 before Greenlee put himself at the free throw line to chip away at the deficit. Greenlee found his way back into the paint successfully followed by a massive and one from Bishop-Green that once again cut the Bulldogs' lead back down to single-digits. Jackson Jr. continued to thrive on the night as he picked up his fifth points of the night on a tough bucket inside the paint.
With Wilson's grit continuing to shine through, the junior knocked down another triple and secured his 12
th point of the night. In a continuous fight to break the deficit, the Cougars cut the lead down to five after another Matthews three, his third of the night.
As Matthews continued the fight for the Cougars, the senior added a layup and his third triple of the night cutting the lead to seven. Greenlee was able to knock down the jumper and once again cut the deficit to five. But a few back-to-back threes for the Bulldogs gave them the momentum shift and let them run away with the game. The Cougars fell behind by as much as 20 points in the second half, but continued to chip away with layups from Bishop-Green and
Ben Gordos as they cut things back down to 19, closing the game for the night.
The Cougars will be back in action against Concordia University Ann Arbor tomorrow (January 28
th, 2022) at 2:00 pm. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
