Bloomington, Ill. — UPSET ALERT. Saturday night marked one of the biggest wins in the history of Concordia University Chicago men's basketball as the team traveled down I-55 to take on the second-ranked Titans of Illinois Wesleyan University. In the game from start to finish, the Cougars prevailed in overtime by a final score of 81-75.

The Cougars were up for the challenge right out of the gate. Senior Jordan Matthews (Chicago, Ill.) broke the ice with a 3-pointer for the games' first points. The senior was huge in the first half for CUC, scoring 11 points in the first 10 minutes of action. He shot 3-5 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes, including one to put his team back in front at 19-18. 

Prior to that 18-16 lead, the Titans had failed to take a lead greater than one point. While they eventually jumped out to a six-point halftime lead, the Cougars did a lot of things well to keep pace with one of the top teams in the nation. 

Nine of the Cougars 20 rebounds came on the offensive end, leading to a 20-15 advantage on the boards. The hustle on the offensive glass provided 13 second chance points to the Titan's four. They played team basketball, dishing out eight assists and picking up 11 points off the bench. 

In addition to Matthews' scoring output in the first half, the Cougars got eight points out of senior Izak Ruddell (St. Joseph, Mich.) and seven out of junior Brent Hatten (Olney, Ill.). 

Matthews once again scored the first points in the second half with a 3-pointer. The Cougars would go on to score the first eight points of the second half to regain a two-point lead. It was clear they weren't about to let the game slip out of reach. 

After the Titans put together a mini run to go ahead by three, seniors Landen Gladney (Chicago, Ill.) and Ruddell delivered back-to-back three's to give the Cougars a 52-49 lead. Hatten knocked down a three less than two minutes later to give the Cougars a four-point lead, their largest of the half. He'd hit another with under five minutes to play, as the Cougars pulled back ahead in the back-and-forth battle. 

Hatten was fantastic for the Cougars all night, leading the team with 21 points and pulling down six rebounds. He was 7-12 from the floor and 3-5 from deep. 

With 2:08 to play, Ruddell splashed home a three to stop a 5-0 Titan run and pull his team within a point. Hatten followed up with two layups, the second of which would turn into a 3-point play and put the Cougars ahead by two with under a minute left. 

An Illinois Wesleyan layup knotted things up with 23 seconds remaining, and the Cougars failed to produce a look on the final possession, sending the game to a five minute overtime period. 

The first four minutes of overtime were quite similar to the final minutes of regulation, with both teams trading blows on their way to four lead changes. Sophomore Emanuel Wilson (Wheaton, Ill.) answered a Titan three with one of his own at the one-minute mark to put CUC ahead by two. 

It was all Cougars from that point forward, as Gladney and Wilson both sank a pair of free throws in the final minute to propel the Cougars to their six-point victory, one of the biggest in school history. 

It's the highest-ranked opponent the program has ever defeated. In doing so, they handed the Titans their first loss on their home floor since Feb. 2020. 

The Cougars shot the lights out from deep in the second half to the tune of 58.3 percent (7-12). More than half of their field goals in the half came from beyond the arc. Similar to the first half, the CUC bench provided a major spark, out-scoring Wesleyan's 19-8. 

One other major area where the Cougars dominated was the turnover department. They forced seven steals in the second half which turned into a ten-point advantage in points off of turnovers. 

Top Performers

• Hatten's team-leading 21 points all seemed to come when the Cougars needed them most. He was the only CUC player to reach double-figures in the second half (14). 

• Matthews was right behind him with 20 points. He was 4-8 from deep and also dished out four assists. 

• Sophomore Justin Greenlee (Brown Deer, Wis.) was again excellent in commanding the offense. He recorded a team-high six assists while also leading the team with nine boards. 

• Ruddell was unconscious from downtown, shooting 4-6 on his way to a 16-point performance. The senior also grabbed four rebounds. 

The team will look to ride this momentum when they return to conference action this Wednesday against Aurora University at Geiseman Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and coverage of the game will be available at cucougars.com/coverage.