Box Score

RIVER FOREST, ILL. — With a little less than a week until Winter Break ends, Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's basketball team (6-6, 3-4) returned to Geiseman Gymnasium Wednesday night with a home match against the Muskies of Lakeland University (5-8, 3-3). After a close start, CUC eventually pulled away to claim a 79-67 victory over Lakeland.

-Inside the Box Score

• Justin Greenlee (Brown Deer, Wis.) was the game's leading scorer with 16 points.

• Jordan Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) led the Cougars in both assists and steals with three of each.

• Freshman Ian Ravagnie (Huntley, Ill.) had a monster game on the boards with 11 rebounds, the game-high and a new career-high. 

-How It Happened

First Half

The Cougars got off to a hot start, scoring the first six points of the game. Lakeland finally got on the board at the 17:19 mark, which was the start of a 9-0 run by the Muskies to take a 9-6 lead with 13:12 left in the half. 

An Elijah White (Sheboygan, Wis.) putbook ended the Lakeland run, and a Joel Watts (Homewood, Ill.) and-one play eventually tied the game up at 11. However, a quick eight-point spree from the visitors gave Lakeland another major advantage, this one 19-11. 

Soon, Lakeland's lead reached 11 when a Cam Jaeger three made it 26-15. But a driving Greenlee layup was all the spark the Cougars needed. The team dropped 15 straight points on the Muskies, and by the time Lakeland ended the run at 1:45, the scoreboard read 30-28 in favor of Concordia. 

CUC scored the final four points of the half, highlighted by a Matthews spin-move to the rim, to take a 34-28 advantage into halftime. 

Second Half

Lakeland came out of the break firing, scoring six of the first eight points to pull within two, 36-34. But a few free throws from Greenlee and a White three-ball gave CUC a little breathing room with their newfound 41-36 lead. 

The Muskies got two points back, but could then do little to slow down the Cougars's 10-point run to build a 13-point lead, 51-38. Lakeland mustered up a pair of free throws, but CUC picked back up on their streak with another four straight points. 

That 13-point soon grew thanks to a pair of threes from Emanuel Wilson (Wheaton, Ill.) and eventually turned into a 19-point advantage with 5:56 to go in regulation, the largest lead of the night. Lakeland kept gaining a few points at a time, but never cut the deficit to single digits at any point. Once the final buzzer went off, the Cougars secured their 79-67 win. 

-Up Next

The Cougars hit the road on Saturday, Jan. 6, when they travel to Lisle, Illinois, and face the Benedictine Eagles. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m., and coverage can be found at cucougars.com.