Box Score
Box score
RIVER FOREST, Ill. - The Wisconsin Lutheran
College Warriors got off to a slow start and were never able to
catch up as they fell to the Concordia University Chicago Cougars
83-70 on Thursday night at the Geiseman Gymnasium.
CUC (12-7, 5-6 NAC) never trailed in the game after scoring the
first points of the night and opening the game with an 11-2 run.
The Warriors would hang around, never trailing by more than 14
points in the first half as they went into halftime down 36-22. The
Cougars were able to shoot 50 percent from the field, making 14 of
28 shot attempts. The Warriors were only able to connect on 32
percent of their shots, going 8-for-25 from the field.
In the second half, the Warriors deficit hovered around 10
points for the majority of the half as they were never able to come
closer than seven points at the 9:39 mark. The teams traded baskets
for the final five minutes of the game. The Warriors shot the ball
better in the second half, going 16-for-34 (47 percent), but the
Cougars once again outshot WLC, hitting 14 of 27 shots for 52
percent.
WLC struggled from the free throw line in both halves. The
Warriors shot 56 percent in the first half (5-for-9) compared to 78
percent for the Cougars (7-for-9). In the second half, the Warriors
made a slight improvement to 61 percent (11-for-18), while CUC shot
76 percent (16-for-21).
Wisconsin Lutheran had five players reach double figures on the
night. DJ Cupertino (Wauwatosa, Wis./East) poured in a game-high 17
points, while Andy Thusius (Kenosha, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) added
13. Jeremy Murphy (Chicago, Ill./Clemente) finished with 12 and
Alex Merbach (Kaukauna, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran) and Tim Demuth
(Franksville, Wis./Racine Lutheran) each added 11 points for
WLC.
Each team committed 16 turnovers in the game but CUC was able to
capitalize by out-scoring WLC 21-6 in points off turnovers. CUC's
bench also added to the victory by out-scoring the Warriors' bench,
24-6.
Four players tallied double-figure scoring for the Cougars. CUC
was led by Jeff Weberg, who finished with a team-high 15 points.
Justin Hineman and Larrell Gary each added 14, and Devin Pankey
finished with 11.
Wisconsin Lutheran (3-16, 2-9 NAC) will return to action
Saturday afternoon against NAC cross-town rival MSOE (14-6, 8-4
NAC) as part of a Winterfest doubleheader. The game is scheduled to
tip at 3:15 p.m.
