Chicago, Ill. - On an afternoon where the shots would not fall for both teams, visiting Concordia Chicago made the most of their attempts behind the three point line, while the Illinois Tech men's basketball team could never get untracked behind the arc, as the Scarlet Hawks fell to the Cougars 75-60 in the Hawks' home opener and conference opener at the Keating Center. The Scarlet Hawks open Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play 0-1 (1-4 overall). The Cougars even their NACC record at 1-1 (2-3).

The Scarlet Hawks actually had a slightly better field goal percentage than the Cougars for the game (37% vs 36%), but Concordia Chicago was able to connect on 10 of 30 shots behind the three point line, while Illinois Tech only converted 3 of 25 behind the arc for a season low 12%.

First Half (Concordia Chicago 37 - Illinois Tech 27)
A Dario Biaggi layup at the 17:50 mark gave the Scarlet Hawks an early 6-0 lead, their biggest lead of the game. But an 8-2 run by the Cougars over the ensuing 1:20, including a pair of three-pointers, tied the game at 8-8 with 16:29 to play in the half. A stretch of missed shots and turnovers by the Hawks allowed the Cougars to jump out to a 12 point lead at 22-10 with 9 minutes remaining in the half. A Sultan Abuissa layup with 8:02 remaining pulled the Scarlet Hawks within 7 points at 22-15, but that would be the closest they would get the remainder of the first half, as the Cougars closed out the half with a 15-12 scoring advantage for the 10 point halftime lead. Garrison Carter and Andrew Veon each lead the Hawks with 7 points in the first half.

Second Half (Concordia Chicago 38 - Illinois Tech 33)
A three-pointer by the Cougars at the 19:10 mark opened the scoring in the second half, and gave Concordia Chicago a 13 point lead at 40-27. From there, the Scarlet Hawks would mount a comeback effort, using a 15-8 run capped off by a Rodney Murphy put-back at the 13:36 mark to cut the Hawks' deficit to 6 points at 48-42. But the comeback effort fell short, as Concordia Chicago answered with a 23-8 run to take a 71-50 lead with 4:26 remaining. A 10-4 run by the Scarlet Hawks over the final four-plus minutes was not enough to overtake the Cougars, as they closed out the 75-60 victory. Desmond Price led the Scarlet Hawks in second half scoring with 8 points.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Dario Biaggi led the Scarlet Hawks with 12 points and 2 steals.
• Andrew Veon had 10 points and 6 rebounds.
• Rodney Murphy had 6 rebounds and 4 points in 14+ minutes played.
• Desmond Price with 8 points in 15 minutes played.

Cougars Watch

• Jordan Matthews led all scorers with 14 points, including 3-7 from three-point range.
• Jacob Collicott added 12 points and led with 8 rebounds.
• Sean Beckman with 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Inside The Box Score

• CUC converted 9 Scarlet Hawks turnovers into 17 points.
• The Cougars held a 23-16 advantage in second-chance points.

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks travel to De Pere, Wisconsin on Wednesday for a NACC matchup with St. Norbert. Tip-off is 7:00 PM.