RIVER FOREST, ILL. — An electric night of play was in store for the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's basketball team, as they faced off against the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Scarlet Hawks. The stands were packed in Geiseman Gymnasium to watch the two Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) members face off, where the Cougars defeated the Scarlet Hawks 84-71.
Inside the Box Score:
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Justin Greenlee (Brown Deer, Wis.) led the offense tonight for the Cougars with 24 points. He also tacked on nine rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal
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Jordan Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) followed right behind his teammate with 20 total points. Matthews had an incredible night on defense, tying his career-high seven steals
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As a team, the Cougars shot 16 of 17 from the free throw line for a 94.1 percent success rate
First Half
IIT would be the first team on the board, taking a lead of 4-0 to start the half. Carter Langendorf (Aurora, Ill.) burst into the paint for points, followed by Greenlee and Jacob Collicott (Lafayette, Ind.) to trail 7-6. The Cougars would then take the lead with a Matthews three and Sean Beckman (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) layup to make it 13-7 CUC.
Beckman would continue to stay hot, drawing a foul and then shooting a three to take the Cougars ahead at 18-7. However, the Scarlet Hawks began working back at the score to make it 18-17. Matthews made quick work with a layup, but IIT would begin to storm forward with the lead 26-20.
Liam Cameron (Ventura, Calif.) started to use his power in the lane and Greenlee made some noise with a huge dunk, still trailing 32-27. Greenlee would then tack on a jumper and two made free throws to take it into the half. IIT would lead CUC with a score of 37-31.
Second Half
This is where CUC would explode on the offense to take the game in their hands. Emanuel Wilson (Wheaton, Ill.) would get the action started, followed up immediately with Beckman and Greenlee to trail by only two 39-37. Greenlee and Wilson continued to tag team on the points and kept chipping away at the Scarlet Hawk lead 45-43.
A Wilson three and drawn foul from Matthews would bring the Cougars back out in front at 48-47. The two teams would then battle back-and-forth for the lead, Wilson drilling a huge three before Brent Hatten (Olney, Ill.) shot in two free throws 55-52 CUC.
Matthews would score on the next two drives, with Hatten and Greenlee following up, to start the runaway at 65-55. With a healthy lead in tact, Geiseman was in pandamonium when Matthews hit a huge three to continue the momentum 68-58.
Greenlee then went on a terror with a three, jumper, and two made free throws at 76-58. IIT went on a late game rally to try and take the tide back, but CUC would stand their ground on offense. Collicott, Greenlee, and Wilson all connected on their plays to pull away at 84-68.
The Cougars would defeat the Scarlet Hawks with a final score of 84-71.
The Cougars will be back to work this weekend as they travel to Marian University on Saturday for a 4 p.m. tipoff. Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
