Written by AJ Schlott

The 2018-2019 Men’s basketball season began on Tuesday (November 6th, 2018), as the Concordia University Chicago Cougars traveled to Valparaiso University to take on the Crusaders. Both teams were hoping to notch one in the win column and get the season started on the right foot.

The first half was all Valparaiso’s game. Shooting a stunning 67%, it was an aerial attack as the Crusaders managed to sink 23 shots, including 4 from deep, giving them a commanding 63-31 point lead when halftime finally rolled around. On top of being able to run the court offensively, the Crusaders managed to shut the Cougars offense down, virtually making them nonexistent. Despite getting off 38 shots, CUC could only sink 11, with sophomore guard Jalen Meeks topping the scoring with only 8 points.

Halftime must have sparked something inside the Cougars, as they came out swinging to get things started. Able to cut the lead down to only 20 (points) before the Crusaders snapped out of the slump, Meeks and the men were electric. All good things must end; however, and the defense of the first half returned to shut the Cougars down, dropping their shooting percentage down to a rough 35%. Despite their tough fight at the beginning of the half, the Cougars just could not catch up the Crusaders, and the D1 team walked away with the win, as the score was 121-65 at the final buzzer.

The Cougars will have their next game on Monday (November 12th, 2018), as they head to Kalamazoo (Kalamazoo College) in search of that first win.