tRiver Forest, Ill. – After more than a week off the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's basketball team was back in action as they hosted Aurora University in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) matchup. The Cougars (4-5, 2-3) spent nearly 30 minutes trailing to the Spartans (6-5, 3-2) but came alive in the middle of the second half to overpower the Spartans.
Inside the Box Score:
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Jordan Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) shot 80% from behind the arc (8-10) leading all scorers with 30 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
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Justin Greenlee (Brown Deer, Wis.) totaled 17 points going 8-12 from the field.
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Jacob Collicott (Lafayette, Ind.) won the battle on the boards with nine and snatching three steals.
How The Game Played Out
First Half:
The Cougars took about a minute and a half to get the game rolling, but finally, Matthews got the Cougars on the board with a floater in the paint. The momentum switched back in the Spartan's favor but
Brent Hatten (Olney, Ill.) drew a charge to get the Cougar spark back. After a four-minute scoring drought, Matthews drains a deep three to tie the score at 7-7.
A spark from the Cougar bench is exactly what
William Bishop-Green (Chicago, Ill.) brought in as he found himself a bucket from behind the arc to put the Cougars down 13-10. The Cougars started to pick up the intensity and battled on the boards which began to create opportunities, Hatton secured an offensive rebound and kicked out for a Matthews three.
The roles were reversed in the next possession where Hatten grabbed his first bucket of the night off of a pick and roll assisted by Matthews, the Cougars still trailing 20-18.
The Cougars tried to climb their way up to tie the game and just when the Spartans were in takeover mode, Matthews and
Joel Watts (Homewood, Ill.) each swished a three of their own to end the half down 33-30.
Second Half:
Greenlee gets the Cougars going in the second half as he creates a layup for himself. He finds his way in the paint for back-to-back buckets bringing the score to 36-34 as the Cougars are still looking to find their first lead of the matchup.
The Spartans continue to take charge but buckets from Collicott and
Emanuel Wilson (Wheaton, Ill.) keep the Cougars within two.
Sean Beckman (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) brings the Cougars within one point as he finds space under the basket.
Ian Ravagnie (Huntley, Ill.) coming off the bench hits a big three-pointer for the Cougars but the Spartans answer bringing the score to 52-48.
Bishop-Green finds an opening in the middle of the lane and he completes the old-fashioned three-point play to bring the Cougars within one again. However, Aurora found a way to do just the same thing and give the Spartans a 55-51 lead. Bishop-Green throws one down to bring the energy to Geiseman.
The Spartans began going on a scoring run but a sense of urgency from the Cougars would let that happen. Matthews grabs back-to-back buckets as he drains a three and gets a layup to bring the score to 63-60. Excellent defensive pressure from Watts comes away with a steal for another Matthews bucket to bring the score within which we have seen quite a few times throughout this game. Matthews, who is shooting like Matthews does, hits his fifth three-pointer to tie the game for the first time.
The Spartans grabbed the lead back on the charity stripe. Matthews comes up big once again draining yet another three to secure the first lead for the Cougars 68-67. The Cougars looking to extend their lead find their star Matthews, who swishes a step back three putting the score at 71-67.
Bishop-Green sends the lead to four with a quick jumper in the paint. Watts comes up with a layup off of a steal and then Collicott does the same and throws down the ball to put the lead at six. Aurora is not going down without a fight as their intensity picks up but not enough to stop Matthews as he nails his 8th three to bring the score 80-74 with less than two and a half minutes. Greenlee enhanced the lead to eight from a pull-up basket. Free throws from Watts and Greenlee closed out the game with a 10-point victory.
A Look Into The Future:
The Cougars will be staying at home for the rest of the week as they host NACC opponent and Concordia rival, Concordia University Wisconsin on Wednesday, December 20th at 7 p.m. Coverage for that game and anything men's basketball can be found at cucougars.com/coverage. Make sure to follow men's basketball for content and updates on Instagram @cuchicago_mbb and on X @cuc_menhoops
