River Forest, Ill. – The Concordia University-Chicago men's basketball team (6-0, 3-0 NACC) hosted their first home conference game of the season as Illinois Institute of Technology (2-6, 0-3 NACC) made the trip to Geisman Gymnasium. The Cougars got the win 57-42 and moved to to 6-0 overall for the first time since the 1978-79 season and 3-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
Inside the Box:
- The Cougars had two players in double figures
- Jordan Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) led the team in both scoring and rebounding with 18 and 14 respectively.
- Jacob Collicott (Lafayette, Ind.) added 12 points after shooting 36% from the field. Collicott also had three blocks on the defensive end.
Both teams struggled to shoot well in the first half as the Scarlett Hawks shot 28% from the field and 23% from the three-point line. On the flip side, the Cougars shot 18% from the field and went without a made three-point attempt in first half. Matthews was the main source of the Cougars's scoring attack grabbing eight points off a pair of layups and four free-throws. Matthews finished the first half shooting 22% from the field and a perfect 4-4 from the charity stripe.
That's ✌️ for Matthews pic.twitter.com/NNbXhg5DVc
— CUC Men's Basketball (@cuc_menhoops) December 3, 2022
The Cougars trailed the majority of the first half, but freshman Elijah White (Sheboygan, Wis.) gave the Cougars a huge momentum boost with an and-one layup with 3:12 remaining in the first half. White capitalized on the three-point opportunity by making his lone free-throw attempt of the afternoon.
Geiseman is SHAKING for Elijah White pic.twitter.com/41CyK5TXqv
— CUC Men's Basketball (@cuc_menhoops) December 3, 2022
Justin Greenlee (Brown Deer, Wis.) concluded the first half with a driving layup with 35 seconds remaining to tie the score 19-19 heading into halftime.
Greenlee ties it up to go into the half!!! pic.twitter.com/HOwKdIuPkx
— CUC Men's Basketball (@cuc_menhoops) December 3, 2022
The second half proved to be a much better storyline for the Cougars as the team shot 48% from the field and 40% from behind the arc.
Greenlee once again showcased his speed with a coast-to-coast layup off a turnover to give the Cougars a 22-19 lead in the opening three minutes of the half.
Geisman Gymnasium erupted as William Bishop-Green (Chicago, Ill.) made his presence felt on the defensive end with a huge steal and dunk with 10:47 remaining in the second half.
Wouldn't wanna be that basket... pic.twitter.com/9xH4vRT3C6
— CUC Men's Basketball (@cuc_menhoops) December 3, 2022
The Cougars defense continued to give the Scarlett Hawks trouble as Collicott showed off his athleticism with a massive block with 6:34 left in regulation. Collicott finished the contest with three blocks to help guide the Cougars past the Scarlett Hawks.
The Cougars will be back in action Monday night at 7:00 p.m. as they travel to Kenosha, Wis. for an exhibition game against Wisconsin-Parkside. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.