Aurora, Ill. - The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's basketball team made their way to Aurora, Ill. to go up against the Spartans of Aurora University. After a fast-paced battle, the Spartans took the game with a final score of 101-79.
Inside the Box Score:
- Darrian Williams (Garland, Texas) left the night's game with a new career high of 26 points.
- Kenton Pryor (Hazel Crest, Ill.) ended the game with 11 points, four rebounds, one assist and three steals.
- Aaron Brown (Joliet, Ill.) concluded the game with seven points, led with 11 rebounds, and two assists.
- Jacob Robinson (Saint Louis, Mo.) left the game with seven points, one rebound and four assists.
Here's What Happened
First Half
Honore Yangoua (Williamstown, Ky.) started off the scoring for the Cougars with a driving layup. The Spartans leveled things with a layup of their own. The Cougars retaliated with a layup on the back cut from AJ Willard (Germantown, Wis.). The Spartans took the lead in time for the first timeout. The Spartans continued to push the Cougars down, 4-10. Brown broke the scoring drought for the Cougars with a free throw, followed by a layup from Williams. The Spartans landed their first three-pointers of the night, leading by 18 points against the Cougars. A shot from Robinson helped the Cougars break 10, 11-25. The Spartans delivered back-to-back three-point jumpers, leaving the Cougars in a 20-point deficit. Robinson was able to get a jumpshot in, trying to eat away at the Spartans' lead. Pryor assisted the Cougars in surpassing 20 points on the board. The Spartans proceeded to double the Cougars' total points, 25-50. With 0:19 remaining, Matthew Guthrie (Carlyle, Ill.) got a hookshot in, trying to help his team. The Spartans went into halftime with a score of 30-54.
Second Half
Williams was first to put up points for the half with a free throw, followed up by some layups from Ryker Johnson (Fond du Lac, Wis.). Williams and Willard fought back against the Spartans with jumpers, chipping away at the Spartans' lead, 41-61. Pryor and Williams continued to put up a fight, adding in a free throw from Sebastian Hill (Decatur, Ill.). Those collective efforts had put the Cougars past 50 points. The Spartans reached their highest lead of the night, keeping the Cougars in a 26-point disadvantage. After three minutes, the Cougars finally scored with some free throws from Carter Privatt (Germantown, Wis.) and a layup from Guthrie. The Spartans broke 80 with a slam dunk. Williams had put up a step back shot and proceeded to hit a three on top of that, 62-85. Williams hit some more three-pointers, resetting his career high to 26 points. With less than two minutes on the clock, Luca Bade (Lagrange Park, Ill.) and Carson Knoll (Frankenmuth, Mich.) joined their teammates on the board with some layups. The Spartans took the game with a final score of 101-79.
What's Next
The team will travel to De Pere, Wis. on January 24th to battle against St. Norbert College. The game will take place at the Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center at 3:15 pm. Coverage for all things CUC men's basketball can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
