by Eric Willuweit
River Forest, Ill. – The Illinois Tech men's basketball team had a top-tier conference team down by 13 points with just over 4 minutes to play in the first half, but were unable to capitalize on the cold-starting Concordia Chicago Cougars, surrendering the entire 13-point advantage by halftime en route to a 57-42 defeat in a NACC road matchup Saturday evening in River Forest, Ill. With the loss, the Scarlet Hawks fell to 0-2 in conference and 2-6 overall. The Cougars improved to 3-0 in NACC play and 6-0 overall.
The Cougars shot an abysmal 18% from the field in the first half, including 0-15 from three-point range. But the Hawks offense was not much better, shooting only 28% in the opening frame, preventing the Scarlet Hawks from extending their 13-point lead. The Hawks also did not shoot a free throw in the first half. Turnovers played a significant factor in the outcome of the game as well, with the Scarlet Hawks giving the ball away 18 times.
First Half (Illinois Tech 19 – Concordia Chicago 19)
In a first half that was difficult to watch regardless which team you rooted for, both teams took turns being ice cold from the field. The Cougars opened the scoring with a layup 30 seconds into the game, and that would represent their only lead of the half. An Otis Reale jumper just over a minute later tied the game at 2-2. The teams traded layups in the 17th minute to forge a 4-4 tie. From there, the Scarlet Hawks were able to eventually open up a 13-point lead, capped off by a three-pointer from Garrison Carter with 4:51 to play for a 19-6 lead. During that run, the Cougars were held without a field goal.
From there, each team's fortunes reversed. Concordia Chicago was able to come all of the way back, when Justin Greenlee's layup with 35 seconds remaining allowed the Cougars to tie the game at 19-19. The Hawks were plagued by offensive fouls and turnovers during the Concordia run, and were also held scoreless the remainder of the half. The Scarlet Hawks shot only 28% from the field in the opening half. The Cougars were even more challenged, shooting only 18% from the field. Carter led the Hawks in scoring with 10 points at the half. Jordan Matthews had eight points to lead the Cougars.
Second Half (Concordia Chicago 38 – Illinois Tech 23)
The Cougars opened the second half with a 15-4 run to jump out to a 34-23 lead at the 14-minute mark. Turnovers, fouls and missed shots contributed to the deficit for the Scarlet Hawks.
A steal and dunk by Concordia's William Bishop-Green gave the Cougars an 18-point lead with 10:41 remaining in the second half. The Scarlet Hawks battled back, however, closing within eight points at 44-36 after a Reale layup with 6:22 remaining. But the Hawks comeback bid ran out of gas at that point, as the Cougars stepped on the gas and claimed their largest lead at 19 points with just under two minutes remaining. Zackary Davis paced the Scarlet Hawks with eight points in the second half. Matthews added 10 more points in the second half to lead the Cougars.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
- Carter finished with 14 points to lead the Hawks. He added 5 rebounds.
- Davis added 11 points on 3 of 5 shooting from three-point range.
- Milos Dugalic pulled down 8 rebounds to lead the Hawks.
Cougars Watch
- Matthews finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Cougars in both catagories.
- Jacob Collicot added 12 points and 8 rebounds.
Inside the Box Score
- The Hawks shot 25% from three-point range on 6-24 shooting. The Cougars shot 16% from three on 4-25 shooting.
- The Scarlet Hawks shot 28% from the field; Concordia Chicago shot 31%
- Illinois Tech committed 18 fouls; the Cougars had 15 fouls.
- Illinois Tech was 6-10 from the free-throw line for 60%. Concordia Chicago was 13-17 (77%).
- Reale was the minutes leader for the Hawks with 38:45. Matthews played 39:14 minutes for the Cougars.
Up Next
- The Scarlet Hawks have a quick turnaround, as they head to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to take on the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) Sunday at 3:30 PM in another NACC matchup.