River Forest, Ill. - The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's basketball team ended the Cougar double-header facing off against the Muskies of Lakeland University. After some major back-and-forth, the Cougars took the game with a final score of 70-67. 

Inside the Box Score:

• Honore Yangoua (Williamstown, Ky.) left the afternoon's game with 18 points, five rebounds and two assists.
• Aaron Brown (Joliet, Ill.) ended the game with 14 points and led with 11 rebounds.
• Matthew Guthrie (Carlyle, Ill.) concluded the game with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and one block.

Here's What Happened

First Half

The Cougars started the half off strong with a 3-pointer from Yangoua. After about three minutes, Brown came in with a tip-in layup, along with another two layups, putting the Muskies in a six-point deficit. The Muskies bit back with a 3-point jumper. Darrian Williams (Garland, Texas) added himself to the scoreboard with a driving layup, 6-11. A three from the Muskies got them within four of the Cougars. Guthrie came onto the court and immediately got a layup in, followed by another three from Yangoua, heightening things to a nine-point lead. A layup in the paint from Kenton Pryor (Hazel Crest, Ill.) got in, along with a jumper from Sebastian Hill (Decatur, Ill.). A fade away from Jacob Robinson (Saint Louis, Mo.) had put the Muskies in an 11-point disadvantage. Hill got in a three, 18-31. The Muskies came in with some jumpers, getting the score gap down to seven points. After free throws from Yangoua and Guthrie, the Muskies continued to trail by 12 points. Ryker Johnson (Fond du Lac, Wis.) got in a driving layup on the fast break, 24-38. The Cougars broke 40 as Carter Privatt (Germantown, Wis.) delivered a driving layup. The Cougars went into halftime on top, 30-40.

Second Half

The Muskies got the first points of the half with a 3-point jumper. Brown came back into play and put down a jumper. Some jumpers from the Muskies put them within five of the Cougars. Robinson retaliates with a layup on the fast break, 37-44. Brown hit back with a layup as well, assisted by Tommy Zimmer (Steger, Ill.). The Muskies slowly added up points, minimizing the point gap. Yangoua tried stopping this with a driving layup. A three from a Muskie had put the team back within four. Shots from Privatt kept the Muskies at bay. Guthrie easily got in more layups, getting him to 11 points, 52-59. Brown broke 60 with a second-chance layup. Yangoua delivered two driving layups, upping the Cougar lead to eight points. The Muskies fought back with a three, 61-66. Another two 3-pointers had put the Muskies within one of the Cougars. Brown got a jumper in with 0:14 remaining. The Cougars took the game with a final score of 70-67.

What's Next

The team will travel to Aurora, Ill. on January 21st to go up against the Spartans of Aurora University. The game will take place at the Thornton Gymnasium at 7 pm. Coverage for all things CUC men's basketball can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.