Nov. 30, 2016 - The Concordia-Chicago men's basketball team renewed one of its oldest rivalries this evening for the home opener as they welcomed the Aurora University Spartans to Geiseman Gymnasium. Both teams played at a brisk pace, but the Spartans finally took control with a 20-3 burst midway through the second half and downed the Cougars by a final score of 106-95.

The Cougars dug themselves an early hole as they missed their first six shots. Meanwhile, the Spartans found the range from the field over the first three minutes. After opening the game with a couple of layups, Aurora connected on consecutive threes by Jovonn Griffin, Marcus Myers and Ty Carlson to take a 13-0 lead, The Cougars finally broke the spell at the 16:38 mark as Justin Saar hit a jumper in the lane. While CUC began to gather some rhythm on offense, Aurora kept smoking from the outside as Myers and Carlson knocked down the triples to put the score at 24-6 after just six minutes had elapsed. 

Shortly after, it was the Cougars' turn to heat up. Mitch Pelissier hit a pair from downtown to lead the home team on an 11-0 run. .Aurora eventually halted the run, and a three by Pat Kramp put the lead back to 30-20. However, the Cougars answered that with a run of seven points on Pelissier's three and buckets by Mike Walmer and Saar. Another score by Walmer soon brought the Cougars to within 32-31, but the Spartans were able to withstand the Cougars' persistent runs and held on to the lead for the remainder of the half with the score standing at 49-43 after 20 minutes.

The early minutes of the second half uncharacteristically saw both teams struggle until Jarek Hotwagner broke the ice and made it a three-point lead for Aurora. The Spartans still maintained the lead, but the Cougars were gaining steam as Pelissier hit his fourth and fifth triples of the night. Trailing by three, Walmer hit a three at the 15:23 mark. Moments later, Pelissier split aa pair of free throws as CUC grabbed its first lead of the game at 58-57. 

Sadly for the home team and its fans, the lead did not last long. Myers drove the length of the court for a layup and added a pair of free throws on the next trip down as the Spartans regained the lead at 61-58. Myers' points ignited Aurora, and they went back to the three over the next several minutes. Carlson and Kramp completed the 20-3 run as the Spartans took a 77-61 lead at the 10-minute mark.

The Cougars were not quite ready to call it a night however. Louis Fernando and Israel Dosie made large contributions off the bench to give CUC a glimmer of a chance down the stretch. Dosie hit consecutive layups to bring the Cougars within 100-90, and Fernando made a steal and buried a three to make it a seven-point game in the final half-minute. However, Aurora hit their free throws late to hold off a spirited effort by Concordia-Chicago.

"We did well in coming back a couple times, and I thought we had a good chance to win when we finally took the lead," said CUC head coach Randy Rogers. "But going down 24-6 really requires a lot from you to come back, and we have to keep from putting ourselves in these big holes from the beginning."

Pelissier led CUC with 24 points (8-16 FG, 5-11 3FG, 3-4 FT), five assists and three steals. Fernando followed with a career-high of 22 points to go with four assists and four steals. Walmer notched a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Dosie added 11 points and two assists.

Aurora (3-2, 1-0 NACC) hit 16 of 37 from three-point range to pave the way to victory. As has been their pattern, all five of AU's starters scored in double figures, led by Carlson with 22 points, six boards and four assists. Kramp followed with 21 points and five assists. Next in line were Myers with 19 points, Max Vickers with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Griffin with 14 points and nine boards. The Spartans claimed a significant 50-39 edge on the glass.

Concordia-Chicago (1-4, 0-2 NACC) will hit the road for the next couple of games, starting this Saturday at Edgewood College.