River Forest, Ill. - The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars men's basketball team was back on their home court to welcome the Spartans of Aurora University. After some intense neck-to-neck gameplay, the Spartans defeated the Cougars with a final score of 78-73.
Inside the Box Score:
- Aaron Brown (Joliet, Ill.) was tonight's leader with 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
- Tallis Lowery (Fairview Heights, Ill.) walked away with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists.
- Vic Garrett (Chicago, Ill.) followed up with 11 points and led with 11 rebounds.
Here's What Happened
First Half
The Spartans started out the scoring for the half with a layup.
Tommy Zimmer (Steger, Ill.) had then put the Cougars on the board with a layup of his own.
Ryker Johnson (Fond du Lac, Wis.) added himself to the equation with a layup, taking the lead for the first time in the game.
Darrian Williams (Garland, Texas) kept the Cougar high with a 3-pointer. The teams turned up a tie, but Brown landed a 3-point jumper as well. Lowery came in with five points as he delivered a layup and a 3-pointer, keeping up the intensity. With an opponent turnover,
Matthew Guthrie (Carlyle, Ill.) was able to get in a layup, continuing the 7-0 run for the Cougars. The Spartans fought back with back-to-back jumpers, shortening the gap;
Honore Yangoua (Williamstown, Ky.) performed a turnaround jumper, halting the Spartans. The teams got tied up once more, but
Kenton Pryor (Hazel Crest, Ill.) put up a layup, attempting to take the game back. With 0:45 remaining, the Spartans maintained a six-point lead. The Spartans kept their lead going into halftime, 40-34.
Second Half
Garrett began the scoring for the half with a layup off of an opponent turnover. The Spartans did not slow down as they landed layups, keeping the Cougars in an eight point deficit. The Spartans continued to push back on the Cougars, delivering layups and jumpers, putting the Cougars down by 14 points. Brown broke this up with a layup, 52-40. Garrett came back with a scored free throw and a layup, trying to cut into the Spartan lead. A jumper from
Sebastian Hill (Decatur, Ill.) helped to lower the Spartan lead into single digits; a dunk from Garrett assisted in picking up the energy for the Cougars. A layup from Brown finally brought the Cougars within five. Another dunk from Garrett got things really going as the Cougars continued their 11-0 run. The Spartans had hit back and proceeded to have a seven-point scoring streak, breaking 70 points. Brown managed to get in a layup, 72-65. With 0:52 remaining, Lowery got in a layup, closing the point gap to six. Yangoua helped the Cougars get past 70 points with a 3-pointer. The Spartans were able to pick up the win against the Cougars, with a final score of 78-73.
What's Next
The team will take a long break before heading to Chicago, Ill. on December 30th to go up against North Park University. The game will take place at North Park Gymnasium at 4:00 pm. Coverage for all things CUC men's basketball can be found at
cucougars.com/coverage.
