Cougars' Dominant Second Half Powers Men's Basketball to Program's First Ever Victory

(Ann Arbor, MI)-- After a tough loss on Wednesday, the Cleary Cougars men's basketball team responded in a big way, as they overcame a halftime deficit to earn the program's first ever victory after defeating the Concordia Cardinals Saturday afternoon.

The first half was a back and forth affair, with both teams claiming early leads.  Concordia would use the three point shot to pick up their largest lead of the game, as they held a 7-point advantage just six minutes left in the first half with a 25-18 score.  Cleary would fight back to tie the game at 27-27, but the Cardinals would finish the half on a 7-3 run, taking a 34-30 lead into the halftime break.

The second half was all Cleary, as the Cougars quickly tied the game at 34-34 when Tyree Jones scored a pair of baskets.  Once again, the two teams traded baskets, but this time the Cougars would be the team to take control of the game.  With Cleary down 44-43, Brockton Kohler made a three pointer to give the Cougars the lead at 46-44, a lead that they would never relinquish.  Cleary would build 56-48 lead with six minutes to play.  Concordia would score four straight points to narrow the gap to 56-52, but that would be the closest the Cardinals would get, as Cleary would make their shots down the stretch, expanding the lead to as many as 14 points, and the Cougars would go on to win by a 73-61 scoreline.

Tim Kewley was massive, as he posted his first career double-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds, 4 dunks, and 3 steals.  The Cougars would have four other players reach double-digits.  Jaylen Cole-Williams and Brockton Kohler each hit 4 three pointers to score 12 points, while Bennie Crenshaw Jr. added 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.  Chris Williams also had 11 points to go with 4 rebounds.  Tyree Jones was a force inside, with 10 points and 8 rebounds.

Cleary had the advantage in shooting percentage (46% - 35%), three point shooting (33% - 23%), and rebounds (39-28).  Cleary outscored CUAA 38-24 in the paint, and had 21 second chance points in the contest.

The win was the first at the helm for head coach Carl Thomas.  Cleary improves to 1-12 overall, and 1-7 in the WHAC.  The Cougars look to make it two in a row with a road game at Lourdes on Wednesday, January 10.  The game is set to begin at 7:30 PM.