News Release

River Forest, Ill. — The Concordia men’s basketball team received some much-needed help last week after playing their last few games in December with just seven players. Four new players made their debut in Concordia’s Jan. 5 game against Dominican University, but their added efforts could not avert a 63-55 loss to the Stars or an 81-74 loss to Eureka College on Jan. 8.
The Cougars' efforts became more cohesive in the second half of their game at Eureka College. The host Red Devils built a big lead, thanks mainly to 8-13 (.615) three-point shooting in the first half. Eureka, who led by 40-31 at the half, extended their lead to 53-33 before the Cougars began to chip away. Bobby Smith scored 12 of his team-leading 22 points, and Robert Lorenzen scored eight points including a couple of three-pointers as the Cougars fashioned a 37-18 run that brought them within 71-70 with 2:53 remaining. However, Eureka’s Clint Raabe scored all eight of his team’s points in an 8-1 run that enabled the hosts to pull away and finally win by seven. Erik Kurtenbach led Eureka with a game-high 26 points while Raabe finished with 16. For Concordia, Smith tallied 22 while Lorenzen finished with 17 and Will Stelzer with 11.