RIVER FOREST, ILL. -In their first game after the Concordia Invitational Tournament (CIT), the Concordia University Chicago men's basketball team took on their Division Street rivals Dominican University. It was a close game from beginning to end, but the Cougars ultimately lost to the Stars 82-74.
Inside the Box
- Sean Beckman (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) led the Cougars with 15 points and 11 rebounds, as well as two assists and one block.
- Jacob Collicott (Lafayette, Ind.) contributed a game high 20 points, and also had eight rebounds, five steals, and three blocks.
- Aaron Brown (Joliet, Ill.) had 12 points off the bench, and had nine rebounds and a steal.
How It Happened
First Half
After Dominican started the scoring with a steal and a layup, the Cougars quickly answered when Beckman hit a three to give the Cougars the lead on their very next possession. After a minute of tight defense on both sides, Dominican hit two shots to take a 6-3 lead, but the Cougars answered with a pair of free throws by Beckman and a jumper by Darrian Williams (Garland, Texas) to take back the lead. The Cougars extended their lead with a 9-2 run, capped by a Collicott layup that prompted Dominican to take their first timeout of the game.
Dominican managed to claw their way back into the game, and cut the Cougar lead to one, until a second-chance layup by Beckman put the Cougs back up three. It would stay close the rest of the first half, with the Cougars biggest lead in the last eight minutes of the half being four. That came after Brown got an offensive rebound and put back a missed Beckman layup. The Cougars would go on a two-minute scoring drought to end the half, and a three by Dominican with 21 seconds gave them the lead going into the break.
Second Half
Dominican hit a layup to begin the second half, but the Cougars immediately answered with a 5-0 run, capped by a pair of Carson Knoll (Frankenmuth, Mich.) free throws to give the Cougs a 41-40 lead. Dominican scored a bucket of their own to retake the lead, and it was a lead that they wouldn't give up for the rest of the game. The Cougars would keep the game close, and a driving layup by Collicott with a little over 10 minutes left in the half would cut the Dominican lead to one. After that, the Stars managed to keep the Cougars at bay, eventually leaving Geiseman Gymnasium with a 82-74 win.
What's Next
The Cougars will be back in action this Saturday as they host Marian University. Tipoff is set for 4:00 pm. Coverage for all things CUC men's basketball (and all things CUC sports) can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
