RIVER FOREST, ILL. - Lead by four of their five starters finishing with double-digit points, the Concordia University Chicago Cougars managed to defeat Marian University at home to break a three game losing skid. Concordia dominated much of the game, although Marian mounted a late comeback. In the end, the Cougars held off the Sabers to pick up the win, 75-67.
Inside the Box
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Jacob Collicott (
Lafayette, Ind.) had a double-double for the Cougars, scoring 11 points to go along with 12 rebounds. He also had seven blocks, six assists, and one steal.
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Sean Beckman (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) led the Cougars in scoring with 18 points, and also contributed six rebounds and four assists.
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Darrian Williams (Garland, Texas) was third in scoring with 12 points, as well as three rebounds and two steals.
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Tallis Lowery (Fairview Heights, Ill.) was the fourth Cougar starter to score double-digit points, picking up 11 points, and was two for two from the three point line.
How It Happened
First Half
Marian scored first with a three, but
Aaron Brown (Joliet, Ill.) quickly answered with a short jumper to put the Cougars on the board. The Sabers went on a 6-0 run to take an 8-2 lead, but the Cougars responded with an absolutely massive 25-7 run to take a 27-15 lead, capped by a Williams three off a Marian turnover.
Concordia held the lead for the rest of the first half, and it was a lead they would not give up for the rest of the game. The closest Marian would get in the first half was seven, but a three by
Joel Watts (Homewood, Ill.) put the Cougar lead back in the double-digits. The Cougars kept the momentum going the rest of the half, and went into halftime with a lead of 44-33.
Second Half
The second half started slowly, as neither team scored for the first few minutes. That changed when Lowery hit a jumper, was fouled, and then nailed the and-one to complete the three point play and give the Cougs a 14 point lead.
From there, it was mostly Cougar domination, with their lead getting up to 15 at several points. However, Marian clawed their way back into the game, going on a 15-4 run to make it a 65-60 Cougar lead with three and a half minutes left in the game. In the crunch, Collicott hit three free throws to get the Cougar lead back up to eight, and it was smooth sailing from there. Marian did make it a six point game with less than half a minute to go, but Beckman answered with a layup to ice the game and give the Cougars a 75-67 home win.
What's Next
The Cougars will next be in action this coming Wednesday, as they hit the road to travel to Rockford University. Tipoff for the game will be at 7:00 pm. Coverage for all things CUC men's basketball (and all things CUC sports) can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
