DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men's basketball team headed west this weekend to compete in the Loras Tip-Off Classic. On day one, the Cougars took on the Royals of Bethel University. CUC came out strong but succumbed to the Royals, 80-72.
Inside the Box
- Matthew Guthrie (Carlyle, Ill.) had himself a night, going 6-for-7 from the paint and leading the team with a career-high tying 13 points along with nine rebounds and a steal.
- Carson Brownfield (Chicago, Ill.) scored 12 points, going 5-for-9, with two rebounds and two steals.
- Aaron Brown (Joliet, Ill.) also had a strong showing on both ends of the court, securing 11 points and grabbing eight boards.
First Half
The Cougars came out hot as Guthrie dunked on the Royals for the first basket of the game.
Knyle Lundy (Atlanta, Ga.) added to our lead before Bethel 11 unanswered points for the lead, 11-4. The Cougars responded with buckets from Brown and
Ryker Johnson (Fond du Lac, Wis.) but Bethel maintained the lead. The Royals extended their lead to as much as 12 points, 28-16. CUC would then get into a rhythm and start slowly chipping away at the deficit. Brown single-handedly scored the next seven points, including one from beyond the arc to cut into the lead by more than half, 28-23. Maintaining momentum, the Cougars continued to rally with a jump shot from
Jacob Robinson (St. Louis, Mo.), another dunk from Guthrie, and three-pointer from
Honore Yangoua (Williamstown, Ky.) knotted the game at 30 with just over a minute left in the half. In the end, the Royals would take a slight 36-32 lead into the break.
Second Half
Bethel tried to extend their lead early, but Guthrie, Brownfield, Robinson, and
Rylan Jean-Baptiste (Orlando, Fla.) all had something to say about that and helped put the Cougars within two, 44-42. The Royals responded with one from beyond the arc, but Guthrie slammed down another dunk to dissuade the Royals. CUC kept the game close but an and-one opportunity for Bethel sparked a run to extend their lead up to 14 points, 63-49. In typical Cougar fashion, CUC battled back to close the gap and with just over six minutes left on the clock, a jumper from
AJ Willard (Germantown, Wis.) brought the gap down to four, 63-59. Still with the advantage, the Royals started to pull away again, going on an 11-4 run. A fast break layup from Jean-Baptiste disrupted the Royals game play with just over two minutes left. Johnson registered a successful and-one opportunity, but the deficit was too much to overcome and the Royals took the game, 80-72.
What's Next
The Cougars will play host school, Loras College for the second day of the Tip-Off Classic, tomorrow, Sunday, November 8. Tipoff is set for 3:00 pm. Coverage for all things CUC men's basketball can be found at
cucougars.com/coverage.
