Dec. 31, 2016 - Coming off a stirring win at Lakeland University 11 days ago, the Concordia-Chicago men's basketball team looked to head into 2017 with a two-game winning streak in conference play as they hosted the Milwaukee School of Engineering in a New Year's Eve matinee at Geiseman Gymnasium. The Cougars had their opportunities but were unable to put consistent stretches of play together, and they were unable to contain MSOE's Collin Seubert, who burned them for 35 points as the Raiders won 83-74.

Mitch Pelissier hit a three to start the afternoon affair, but MSOE took the lead behind back-to-back baskets inside by Dylan Sommerfeld, Seubert then began his big day with an eight-point run (two threes and a layup). The Raiders built a double-digit lead at 19-9 and continued on to a 25-11 lead at the 9:14 mark as CUC called a timeout.

Concordia-Chicago came out of the timeout and responded with an 18-4 run. Jarek Hotwagner ignited it with a jumper and then a three. Jamaal Thomas converted an MSOE turnover into a layup, and Hotwagner followed moments later with his second three to bring CUC within 25-21. The Raiders tried to hold off the home team's surge, but a Pelissier three, an Israel Dosie three-point play and a jumper by Pelissier tied the game with 5:31 remaining in the half. 

At that point, the Cougars hit a scoreless spell of almost four minutes, and the Raiders took advantage with a 7-0 run. Baskets by Pelissier and Mike Walmer restarted the offense, but the teams went to their locker rooms at the half with MSOE leading 41-35.

Walmer's three provided CUC's only points for the first 4 1/2 minutes of the second half as the visitors regained a 10-point lead. However, the Cougars erased that with a run over the next four minutes. Walmer hit a pair of threes, and Rodrigo Nava hit an off-balance jumper in the lane. Moments later, Pelissier scored on a layup as the Cougars and Raiders were tied at 50-50.

Sommerfeld split a pair of free throws to put the Raiders back in the lead and, unfortunately for the Cougars, they were unable to catch MSOE a third time. Seubert then scored the next four points, and he would be the team's catalyst for the final run. The senior guard scored 13 points in MSOE's 25-9 run as the Raiders built a 75-59 lead with four minutes remaining. 

The Cougars tried to rally, and Evan Snyder's three with 42 seconds left got CUC within six points at 78-72, That was as close as it got as Jason Palesse and Seubert scored the visitors' final points at the free-throw line.

As the Raiders' only double-figure scorer of the game, Seubert's 35 points came on 10-17 from the field (5-9 on threes) and 10-11 at the line. Seubert also pulled down nine rebounds, second to Tegan Miles' 10, and handed out four assists. For CUC, Walmer scored 23 on 7-16 from the field (3-5 on threes) and 6-7 from the stripe. Pelissier had 14 points to go with four assists and four steals, and Dosie added 10 points.

"We played well in stretches, but we didn't do enough of the little things we needed to do in order to win this game," said CUC head coach Randy Rogers. "We would try to sustain a rhythm on the floor but then miss a key shot or not get a defensive rebound. Then with Seubert doing what he did, it all added up to coming just short. We'll keep trying to work on those things, because we have two big conference games coming up next week."

The Cougars (2-7, 1-5 NACC) will play at Rockford University on Wednesday night, Jan. 4 as part of a doubleheader with the women's team. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.