MEQUON, WIS. - The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's basketball team took on the hearty task of challenging the Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW)Falcons for the third time this season in the quarterfinals matchup of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) tournament. This is the second consecutive season the Cougars have made the conference tournament, but this year the team would boast a fifth seed bid to pair them up with CUW, ultimately falling 82-68.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Aaron Brown (Joliet, Ill.) led the way for the Cougars with 16 points and four rebounds.
- Joel Watts (Homewood, Ill.) followed behind with 11 points, six rebounds, and two steals.
- Darrian Williams (Garland, Texas) rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
- Jacob Collicott (Lafayette, Ind.) added eight points, six rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
The Cougars got on the board first with an early jumper from Brown, but a pair of Falcon free throws would quickly level things up. Exchanges of baskets would be broken by a Brown layup paired with a Collicott free throw to put the Cougars up by three, but the Falcons would answer with three points of their own to level the score once again. A three from the Falcons would take the lead for the first time of the day, but a driving bucket from Kenton Pryor (Hazel Crest, Ill.) would bring them back within one.
Brown would continue to lead on the court and put up another bucket to give the Cougars back the lead. Six straight in favor of CUW would leave the Cougars trailing by their largest deficit yet, but a bucket from Ryker Johnson (Fond du Lac, Wis.) would break that and swing momentum back to CUC.
Struggling to catch back up with the Falcons, the Cougars would see their first three of the day at the hands of Williams, who would go back-to-back to being them within three.
Keeping the game within reach, another bucket from Williams would bring the Cougars within one, but an 8-0 run from the Falcons would leave them in a deficit heading into the half.
SECOND HALF
The Falcons would burst into the second half with a 7-0 run before Brown could find the net to break the streak. After struggling to get hot in the first half, Collicott took control and threw down back-to-back buckets for the Cougars, including his first three of the night.
Despite this momentum from CUC, the intense CUW offense continued to push on and would jump out to as much as a 13 point lead just five minutes into the fresh half. Unwilling to back down, the Cougars would go on a run with buckets from Brown, Johnson, and Tallis Lowery (Fairview Heights, Ill.). Unable to hold off the CUW offense once again, the Cougars would find themselves in a deep deficit before another burst from Watts and Sean Beckman (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) would bring keep it a ten-point game.
Despite consistent bursts of energy, the Cougars would be unable to overpower the Falcons and fall 82-68.
This concludes the 2024-25 CUC men's basketball season as the Cougars fell in the opening round of the NACC tournament and end the year with a final record of 11-15 and a conference record of 9-9. Keep up with all things CUCMBB in the offseason by following @cuc_menhoops on X and @cuchicago_mbb Instagram while updates, such as rosters and schedules, can be found at cucougars.com.
