RIVER FOREST, ILL.- The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars stayed on their home court against Adrian College tonight. After a tough battle, the Cougars fell short to the Bulldogs, with a final score of 92-81.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Tallis Lowery (Fairview Heights, Ill.) led the Cougars with his career high of 22 points, 3 assists and 6/6 in free throws.
- Ryker Johnson (Fond du Lac, Wis.) ended with 16 points and six rebounds.
- Vic Garrett (Chicago, Ill.) finished third in points with a total of 15, seven rebounds, and an exciting dunk, while also adding one assist and two blocks.
- AJ Willard (Germantown, Wis.) totaled two free-throws, two rebounds, one assists, one block, and three steals for the Cougars.
HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
Johnson was the first to score for the Cougars in the first half with a three-pointer, following an eight-point deficit against the Bulldogs. Building on this momentum, Lowery executed a successful jumper, narrowing the Bulldogs lead to only three points with the score at 8-5. As both teams advanced in scores, Johnson and
Darrian Williams (Garland, Texas) each made layups for the Cougars. Despite a good jumper by Garrett that brought the Cougars within a single point, the Bulldogs continued to extend their lead. Garrett then scored again with a good tip-in followed by a layup to bring the Cougars within one again, 16-15.
Aaron Brown (Joliet, Ill.) found the rhythm of the game with a good free throw and jumper assisted by Garrett. Both Garrett and Johnson capitalized on opportunities by scoring layups in the paint, but the Cougars remained behind. Johnson executed a fastbreak, hitting a three-pointer with an assist by Williams to tie the game at 25-25. After the Bulldogs scored back-to-back three-pointers to increase their lead to four, Johnson responded by hitting a jumper and layup. Closing the half, Garrett made a free throw and Lowery added a jumper, but the Cougars trailed the Bulldogs by five points, with a score of 39-34.
SECOND HALF
Getting things going for the Cougars, Johnson scored two free throws. The Cougars then executed three consecutive scoring plays, including a good layup and free throw from Lowery and jumper by
Matthew Guthrie. The next three points came from Lowery, who made both free throws and a layup for the Cougars. Williams demonstrated his consistency by securing two free throws followed by a layup from
Andreas Louloudis (Thessaloniki, Greece), closing the trail to one point, 50-49. Continuing to contribute, Garrett completed another good layup, with Williams adding a jumper. The Cougars then went on a 6-0 run, as Lowery scored a jumper, followed by an impressive dunk from Garrett, and concluded with a jumper from Williams. Lowery completed an and-one followed by layups from Willard and
Sebastian Hill (Decatur, Ill.). Now within five, Hill hit green with a three-pointer and Willard collected two free throws to keep the deficit small. Still behind, the Cougars fought back with another layup and free throw before the final minute and a half. Scoring the last points for the Cougars, was Lowery, scored the final layup. Despite the Cougars' efforts, the Bulldogs maintained an 11-point lead, winning the game with a final score of 92-81.
WHAT'S NEXT
The team will stay at home on December 17th for another Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) match against Aurora University. The game will take place at the Geisman Gymnasium at 7:00 pm. Coverage for all things CUC men's basketball can be found at
cucougars.com/coverage.
