EDWARDSVILLE, ILL. – In their first test of the 2026-27 season, the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's basketball team headed south for an exhibition matchup with the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) Cougars, ultimately falling 85-61. Despite the final scoreline, the CUC Cougars battled the entirety of the game with the SIUE Cougars, setting a strong tone for the start of the season.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Jacob Robinson (St. Louis, Mo.) led the charge in a dominating fashion, picking up a career-high 17 points with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
- Matthew Guthrie (Carlyle, Ill.) contributed in multiple ways, picking up 13 points, two rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
- AJ Willard (Germantown, Wis.) also added nine points with four rebounds, three asissts, and one block.
- Carson Brownfield (Chicago, Ill.) made a commanding debut in the maroon and gold with seven points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
FIRST HALF
CUC would score first off a free throw from Brownfield, but SIUE would drain back-to-back buckets and go up 4-1. CUC would stay in the running, trading buckets with SIUE, but would fall slightly behind 7-3 just a few minutes in. As the CUC Cougars were trying to figure out a rhythm they would eventually click and kick things up a notch on both the defensive and offensive end.
After a fast break led to a foul and a pair of free throws, Robinson drained two and put the Cougars back ahead by one. A massive block from
Knyle Lundy (Atlanta, Ga.) would force the seventh turnover of the night and give CUC an opportunity to extend out further but would ultimately turn the ball over after facing some intense defense. A big block from Guthrie would lead to an easy bucket for him on the other end to bring the CUC Cougars within four. CUC and SIUE would trade layups before Robinson would make things interesting with CUC's first three of the day to bring them within one before a media timeout. A pair of free throws from Robinson would give CUC their first lead of the day since the first point of the day. Robinson would go on a run himself, draining another three and a layup, bringing the Cougars ahead by four with a 9-0 run coming at the hands of himself.
A quick look in the paint and a fast break bucket for the SIUE Cougars would give them the lead 28-25, forcing a CUC timeout with under five minutes to play in the half. Coming out of the timeout, the Cougars would look to feed the ball to a hot shooting Robinson, but the SIUE defense would lock in and make it difficult to get a shot off.
After struggling to score for more than four minutes, a stepback jumper from just inside the three point line from Robinson would break through and bring the CUC Cougars within four. SIUE would tack on some free throws, but a turnaround fadeaway from Willard would bring them back within four. With under two minutes to play in the half, Willard would find Robinson in motion at the top of the key for a three, cutting the deficit down to one with time running down in the half. A jump ball with 31.2 seconds on the clock would give CUC possession to close the half on top. With full court pressure from SIUE, Willard would inbound to
Aaron Brown (Joliet, Ill.) who would put the ball into the hands of Robinson. Robinson would look to find Guthrie in the paint who would be fouled in motion and head to the line for two. Guthrie would drain both free throws and give CUC the lead by one with 15 seconds to play. CUC would put the pressure on, but SIUE would be able to lay a bucket in as the buzzer ran down and took the lead back heading into halftime.
SECOND HALF
CUC started the second half forcing an off balanced shot and getting the ball on the other end of the floor. CUC would strike first in the half with a three on the wing from Willard to put CUC ahead 37-35 in the fresh half. With a commanding dunk from SIUE tying the game up, the back-and-forth exchange of buckets officially began. Guthrie would get the ball in the paint and in a familiar fashion sink a hook shot with his back to the basket and then on the next possession battle for a rebound putback and put CUC up 42-39.
SIUE would go on a little burst and take the 43-42 lead, forcing CUC to take a timeout to regroup. Coming out of the timeout, SIUE would pick up where they left off and extend out to an 12-0 run while holding CUC scoreless for more than three and a half minutes, extending out to the largest lead of the day. Robinson would try to retaliate with a deep three from the top of the key, but unable to covert would hand the ball over. Brown would break the scoring drought with a corner jumper to bring them back within single-digits. SIUE would answer quickly with a dominant dunk and a stop before extending out to a 13 point advantage. With SIUE starting to pull away, CUC would start to play fast and intense defense, leading to a slurry of fouls that would put the SIUE Cougars at the line.
The CUC Cougars would find a little bit of momentum with a strong take along the baseline from Brownfield through a herd of SIUE Cougars would bring them within 11. SIUE would be able to break through the CUC full-court pressure with ease and continue to extend their lead. A missed three and a foul from
Ryker Johnson (Fond du Lac, Wis.) would send SIUE to the charity stripe, draining both to jump out to a 15 point advantage.
Strong, lockdown defense from SIUE would keep CUC out of the paint and ultimately send them back to the free throw line. With SIUE outscoring CUC 21-4 across seven minutes, the CUC Cougars would need to find some of the success they had in the first half. A hook shot from Brown would be exactly what they needed to break the scoring drought, but SIUE would drain a three and erase all momentum CUC had.
Fresh after a media timeout SIUE would come out with some heat and extend back out to a 17-point advantage. A three from the SIUE Cougars would extend out to the largest lead of the day before Guthrie cut things back down to an 18-point deficit. Refusing to lose momentum, CUC continued to play strong on defense, but SIUE would start to come alive from beyond the arc, collecting 15 points from deep in the second half. With under four minutes to play, CUC continued to play with intensity as Willard dropped two points off the glass. Fresh legs would check in for CUC with
Cameron Woods (Oak Park, Ill.),
Brayden Ablin (Plainfield, Ill.),
Batuhan Goktas (Antalya, Turkey),
Qadar Copeland (Orlando, Fla.),
Adonys Christo (Orlando, Fla.), and
Rylan Jean-Baptiste (Orlando, Fla.) all making their unofficial debut in the maroon and gold. With under a minute to play, Ablin would drain a high three while Woods would sink a pair of free throws, bringing the Cougars to their final points of the day, falling 85-61.
UP NEXT
Despite a strong showing from the team, the exhibition status nulls the statistics for the Cougars. Nonetheless, CUC will kick off the official start to the season this weekend with two games at the Loras Tip-Off Classic, facing Bethel College on Saturday, November 7
th at 7:00 PM and then the host school Loras College on Sunday, November 8
th at 3:00 PM. Coverage and updates regarding these games and all things CUC Men's Basketball can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
