Box Score The Chicago State men's basketball team (6-14, 2-5 Western Athletic Conference) fell to Utah Valley (14-6, 5-3) 101-87 Thursday Night at the Jones Convocation Center in Chicago. Utah Valley shot 76.2 percent from the field in the second half and 69.1 percent for the game while the Cougars fell just below those totals, hitting 61.3 in the second half and 54.1 for the game.
Dominique Alexander led all scorers with 23 points, converting 7-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-4 from beyond three and 7-for-7 from the free throw line. The Cougars had three other players in double figures with
Coreyoun Rushin adding 17,
Brandon Betson 15 and
Jahsean Corbett 14.
Utah Valley opened the scoring with four quick points on back-to-back possessions to open the game before
Jahsean Corbett got the Cougars on the board with a three. Following a Wolverines hoop, Ali Dibba converted a layup to pull CSU back to within one, 6-5. The teams exchanged baskets and
Dominique Alexander scored on back-to-back Cougars possessions and his and-one tied the score at 10-10. UTU went on a 5-0 run before a
Coreyoun Rushin free throw and
Favour Chukwukelu three pulled CSU back to within one, 15-14.
At that point, the Wolverines went on a 7-0 run to lead by eight, 22-14. Ali Dibba stopped the run with a three-pointer before another UVU run of six points extended the lead to 11. Dibba again stopped the run, converting a jumper but CSU trailed 28-19. UVU countered with an 8-2 run and had its largest lead of the game, 15 points, 36-21, with 7:14 remaining in the first half.
Corbett made a three and Alexander a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 10, 36-26, before a Wolverines 5-2 run pushed the lead back to 13, 41-28. The teams exchanged baskets for the remainder of the half and the Wolverines took a 52-37 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Cougars came out hot in the second half and went on a 15-7 run to cut the 15-point halftime deficit to seven, 59-52, with 16:34 remaining to play. UTU countered with a 5-0 run and the lead remained in double digits a Betson three again cut the deficit to seven and, following a Wolverines basket, Rushin scored and
Favour Chukwukelu made a pair of free throws and the margin was just five, 73-68, with 10:30 left to play. An 11-6 Utah Valley pushed the lead back into double digits, 86-74. The lead remained in double digits for the remainder of the game with Chicago State cutting it to 10, but a 9-1 UVU run put the game out of reach.
Next up, the Cougars are scheduled to host the Dixie State Trailblazers (10-10, 3-4) Saturday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. at the Jones Convocation Center. The game will be the first meeting between the two schools and Dixie State enters the contest with a 2-6 record away from home this season.
About Chicago State
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. In 1991, the Chicago State women's tennis team became the first all-black college team to amass an unbeaten season at the NCAA level. 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, also making 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. Chicago State volleyball recorded a historic season in 2021, with Yanlis Feliz becoming CSU's first volleyball All-American and head coach Tony Trifonov earning selection as WAC Coach of the Year.
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