WAUWATOSA, WIS. – The Cougars traveled the cold trip to Wisconsin where they battled with nationally ranked Wisconsin Lutheran College, falling 91-67. The Cougars and Warriors exchanged momentum early in the game, but the reigning Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) champions ultimately landed on top.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Jacob Collicott (Lafayette, Ind.) led the squad with career-high 17 rebounds while adding in 13 points, seven assists, and three steals.
- Darrian Williams (Garland, Texas) contributed ten points, five rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
- Joel Watts (Homeland, Ill.) picked up the last of the double-digit points and tacked on ten with four rebounds and one assist.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
The Cougars struck first off a quick three from
Sean Beckman (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) while a steal from
Kenton Pryor (Hazel Crest, Ill.) turned to a fast break opportunity for Collicott would tack on one additional point and start the game with a four point lead for CUC.
A coast-to-coast layup for Collicott would put the Cougars up 6-3 under two minutes into the half, but a 19-0 run in favor of the Warriors would put the Cougars in a deficit with less than ten minutes to play in the half. With fresh legs on the floor, the Cougars got to work and chipped away at the Warrior lead. Back-to-back layups from
Ryker Johnson (Fond du Lac, Wis.) would break the Cougar scoring drought and open the doors back up.
With additional first half buckets from Pryor, Johnson, Williams, and
Liam Cameron (Ventura, Calif.) the Cougars would bring the game within three two points.
The Warriors would go on a 10-0 run to close the half and jump back out to a 12 point lead after the first 20 minutes of play.
SECOND HALF
The Cougars struck first in the second half, with a layup from Collicott to kick things off. The Warriors kept pressuring and a 5-0 burst would keep the Cougars out of reach. The Warriors would jump out to as much as a 24 point lead in the second half, but a steal and fastbreak layup from Collicott would break that up.
Additional points from Collicott, Watts, Williams, Pryor, Beckman, Cameron,
AJ Willard (Germantown, Wis.),
Aaron Brown (Joliet, Ill.), and
Carson Knoll (Frankenmuth, Mich.) would round out the game, ending in a deficit. The Cougars will be back in action on Saturday as they take the home court for Alumni Day as they host Edgewood College with a 2:00 pm tipoff. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
