RIVER FOREST, ILL. – The Concordia University Chicago men's basketball team took the home court on Saturday to face off against the St. Norbert College Green Knights in a late season Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) battle. With major playoff implications at hand, the Cougars fell just short 69-66.
 
INSIDE THE BOX

• Aaron Brown (Joliet, Ill.) picked up a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds while also adding one block.
• Joel Watts (Homewood, Ill.) picked up 19 points while shooting 50% from deep. He also added five assists and one steal.
• Jacob Collicott (Lafayette, Ind.) led the team in points with 13 points, while tacking on nine rebounds, and one steal.
• Darrian Williams (Garland, Texas) rounded out the double-digit scoring for the Cougars with 11 points while adding four rebounds, two steals, and one assist.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
The Cougars struck first with a jumper from Brown, but a retaliation three from the Green Knights would give them the early lead. Another quick three from the Green Knights would give them the early advantage while the Cougars struggled from deep. Both teams would hit a drought with the both going 0-for-5 until a three from the Green Knights broke the dry streak. Collicott would put one up from the Cougars from the charity stripe, but the Green Knights continued to score and jumped ahead 13-5. A layup from Collicott would give the Cougars their first field goal in nearly five minutes and give them some momentum.
 
 
Utilizing a slew of substitutions, the Cougars looked to spark something going and a three from Sean Beckman would be the solution. Buckets from Collicott and Brown would bring the Cougars within three while a fast break open floor layup from Watts would bring them within one and force a SNC timeout. Fresh out of the timeout, the Green Knights had multiple opportunities to extend their lead, but instead the Cougars would finally secure the rebound. Unable to convert on their offensive end, the Green Knights would miss a pair of free throws, but secure the offensive board and have a fresh chance, but a tip in at the other end would bring the Cougars within two. A jumper from Collicott would level the score at 22 apiece,
 
 
A lone free throw from the Green Knights would edge them ahead, but a pair from Collicott and a layup from Beckman would put the Cougars ahead by three. An and-one from the Green Knights would tie things up before a jumper outside the paint would give them the lead by two. With the Cougars having a chance to take the last shot of the half, a shot clock violation would give the Green Knights the last shot of the half and the lead 28-26 to end the first 20.
 
SECOND HALF
The Green Knights struck first in the second half to extend out to a six point lead while the Cougars struggled to get a shot to fall. Their first points of the half would come off back-to-back buckets from Watts before a monster block from Brown would send momentum to the Cougars.
 
 
After a 0-5 run in three minutes, the Green Knights would break the lid off the basket and put them on a quick 4-0 burst. With CUC still trailing, a backdoor cut for Collicott would shift some momentum back and an and-one bucket for Williams would bring the Cougars back within one possession after trailing by as much as six.
 
 
With the Green Knights shooting hot from deep, the Cougars kept chipping away inside the paint with buckets from Brown and Kenton Pryor (Homewood, Ill.). A steal from Watts turned three would level the score and bring new life to the CUC squad.
 
 
Consecutive threes from the Green Knights would force a CUC timeout, but a find in the paint for Brown would keep things rolling for the Cougars. Creating a back-and-forth battle in the paint, the Cougars would sit at a four point deficit for a good chunk before a three from Watts would break the floodgates open. A pair of free throws from the Green Knights would put them up by five, but a layup from Williams would cut the deficit down to three. Struggling to play clean defense, the Cougars would give the Green Knights opportunities from the charity stripe, but Watts getting hot from deep would bring the Cougars within one.
 
 
With the Cougars trailing by five in the final minute and a half, a pair of free throws from Collicott would bring them within one possession. With full court pressure from the Cougars, the Green Knights would foul offensively and give the Cougars the ball with under a minute to play and trailing by three. Off Watts driving attempt, the senior would take two free throws to bring the score within one. After giving the Green Knights three free throws, they would extend their lead out three. A missed three from the Cougars would put the Green Knights back at the free throw line where they would jump ahead 68-64. A deep two from the Cougars would bring the score within three, but the Green Knights would be able to dribble it out and secure the win.
 
The Cougars will be back in action on Wednesday as they head to the South Side to take on Illinois Tech for a 7:00pm tipoff. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com.