MEQUON, Wis. — Looking to build off of their gritty win over Lakeland on Wednesday, the Concordia University Chicago men's basketball team took the floor on Saturday afternoon against the rival Falcons of Concordia University Wisconsin. The Cougars were opportunistic all night long, forcing 20 CUW turnovers in route to a 77-75 road NACC win. 

Inside the Box Score

• Emmanuel Wilson (Wheaton, Ill.) had a career-high 20 points on 7-12 shooting, which included three threes. He also had five rebounds and three steals. 

• Jalen Meeks (Aurora, Colo.) and Jacob Collicott (Lafayette, Ind.) recorded 15 and 13 points respectively.

• CUC scored 25 points off of turnovers in the game.

• The Cougars shot 45.5% for the game and knocked down eight threes. 

• The win is the first over CUW since 2014, and the first in Mequon since 2007. 

The Cougars got things going offensively in the opening minutes of the game on layups by Landen Gladney (Chicago, Ill.) and Izak Ruddell (Saint Joseph, Mich.). CUC continued to add on in the early goings, expanding the lead to 20-11 on a Wilson three. CUW got on a quick run of their own, pulling within three, but the Cougars had an answer when Collicott drained a three. 

CUW cut into the CUC lead again in later parts of the first half, but Collicott was able to drain another three before he threw on down, converting a steal into a slam dunk on the other end to give CUC a 28-21 lead. The Falcons continued to fight in the half, but the Cougars were able to keep their lead at seven on a Meeks jumper right before the half. 

The Falcons slowly cut into the lead early in the second half, as the two sides struggled to get into a rhythm offensively. CUW finally took their first lead of the day on a Jordan Johnson layup with 16:46 remaining.

Wilson gained momentum back for the Cougars, ending the CUW run with a three. The CUC lead ballooned again to nine, but the Falcons fought back again, pulling even at 58 with 9:57 remaining. 

Multiple Cougars came up clutch down the stretch. CUC grabbed the lead for good on a Collicott layup. Meeks then hit a three and Tavarus Davis-Williams (Fox Lake, Ill.) finished a layup to expand the lead back to seven.

CUW did not go quietly, clawing their way back to within one with 43 seconds remaining. After a CUC timeout, a big block by Jordan Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) on the defensive end and four straight converted free-throws sealed the 77-75 road conference win. 

With the win, the Cougars improve to 5-6 overall and 3-3 in NACC play. CUW falls to 5-7 overall and 4-3 in NACC play. CUC will be back in action on Wednesday night when they hit the road again for the short trip down the street to rival Dominican. Opening tip is set for 7:00 pm. You can find links to coverage at cucougars.com/coverage. You can also keep up with the team on Twitter @CUCmenhoops.