Men's Basketball Overcomes Halftime Deficit to Sweep Concordia

(Ann Arbor, MI)-- The Concordia Cardinal men's basketball team couldn't seem to miss in the first half, but Carl Thomas' halftime adjustments, combined with some timely shooting helped the Cleary Cougars earn a 70-64 vicotry Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor.

Concordia was on fire to start the game, and held a very early 9-0 lead forcing a Cougar timeout.  Chris Williams got the Cougars on the board with a layup and an and-one free throw, but the Cardinals hit a three to answer.  Cleary cut the deficit to four points, after a Jacob Mueller and-one conversion, and a Tyree Jones steal and dunk.  The Cougars cut the Cardinal lead to three after Jaylen Cole-Williams knocked down a three, and after a Jacob Mueller layup, the Cougars trailed by only one point.  Concordia responded, scoring eight consecutive points before an AJ Hess three pointer temporarily stopped the bleeding.  CUAA continued their run, however, and with 9:00 to play in the half, Cleary trailed 27-17.  After another Cardinal three, the lead had grown to 38-23 with 3:39 to play in the half, the largest lead for either team in the game.  The Cougars would get some late half baskets from Chris Williams and Bennie Crenshaw Jr. but the halftime deficit would be eleven, with the score 39-28 in favor of the Cardinals.

CUAA started the half with a backdoor layup to extend their lead.  A Jacob Mueller layup, followed by a Jaylen Cole-Williams three pointer would make it an eight point game.  After Chris Williams scored back to back baskets, including a transition dunk, the deficit would only be four points, with fifteen minutes still to play in the game.  A pair of Chris Williams free throws made it a two point game.  Cleary and Concordia's offense would stall for the next six minutes, as neither team was able to find their footing.  Concordia would strike first, scoring six straight points to take a 55-47 lead.  Tyree Jones scored a layup, and AJ Hess hit back to back threes to tie the game at 55-55.  A Justin Odoms layup would give the Cougars their first lead of the game.  After a Jacob Mueller jumper and a Tyree Jones transition layup, Cleary had built themselves a six point lead with five minutes to play in the game.  The Cardinals would not go down without a fight, and scored four unanswered points to make the score 61-59.  After Chris Williams scored a layup, AJ Hess hit his fourth three pointer of the game with 1:00 left to ice the game, making the score 66-59 in favor of the Cougars.  CUAA would foul to extend the game, but Bennie Crenshaw Jr. was perfect from the free throw line, helping the Cougars win 70-64.

Jacob Mueller had a game high 16 points to go with 11 rebounds.  Chris Williams added 14 points and 9 rebounds, while Tyree Jones had 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 steals.  AJ Hess had 4 threes off the bench including the late dagger.

Cleary ends the regular season all-time series with Concordia with a perfect 4-0 record.  The Cougars now hold a 7-15 overall record, and are 6-10 in the WHAC.  The Cougars will be back on the road on Wednesday, when they travel to take on the Lourdes Gray Wolves in a WHAC contest.  The game is set to begin at 7:30 PM.