Cougars Men's Basketball Improve to 2-0 with 67-56 Victory over SIUE

The Chicago State men's basketball team beat SIUE 67-56 Friday night at the Jones Convocation Center in Chicago. Freshman Bryce Johnson scored 17 second-half points to key the win and help the Cougars to it first two-game win streak over Division I opponents since the 2014-15 season (Feb. 26 vs. GCU, W, 74-70; Feb. 28 vs. Utah Valley, 65-44).

"It feels real good, but like I said, we have to focus on the next one," head coach Gerald Gillion said. "Bryce Johnson is a player. If you give him shots, he's going to hit them but it's so much more than his game today. He's got to keep playing, keep improving. He's a big-time freshman, like the rest of our freshmen."

One of those freshmen, Kedrick Green helped CSU jump out to an early 8-6 lead, scoring the game's first points, a three pointer, followed by a layup before Brandon Betson chipped in with a three of his own.

SIUE's Ray'Sean Taylor'a second three gave SIUE its first lead, 9-6, before Chicago State went on an 11-3 run to go up 17-12 with 11:07 remaining in the first half. Teddy Bayi Ba Mandeng scored on a driving layup and made a couple free throws while Betson converted a pair of layups and Coreyoun Ruhsin also added a layup and free throw during the run.

SIUE chipped away and tied the game 19-19 on a Shaun Doss, Jr., three-point field goal before Bayi Ba Mandeng made a dunk and layup to put CSU back up while Noah Bigirumwami and Andrew Lewis both cracked the scoring column with jumpers and Green capped the scoring with a second effort layup and Chicago State went into the locker room at halftime leading 27-23.

The Cougars from SIUE dominated the early minutes of the second half and jumped out to a 7-0 run before Rushin stopped the run with a jumper but SIUE led 30-29 with 16:26 remaining in the game. 

Then, Chicago State freshman Bryce Johnson took over, scoring 12 points during a 15-6 CSU run. Johnson nailed a three, his first collegiate points, then a traditional three with a layup and free throw, then another pair of three-point field goals and CSU led 44-36.

SIUE countered with a 4-0 run to pull within four, 44-40, before Betson scored on a layup and a long three following two Andrew Lewis free throws and CSU was up five, 51-46, with 5:42 left to play.

The game turned into free throw contest at that point, with both teams scoring 13 of the next 19 points from the charity stripe but Betson, Lewis and Rushin each scored jumpers and CSU led 59-53 with 2:23 to play. Then, Bryce Johnson struck again, hitting a three to extend the lead to nine with a minute and a half remaining. Green converted a free throw and Lewis two and the lead ballooned to 12 with under a minute to play for the eventual 11-point victory.

 

Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title and made an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).  The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet. 

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