Box Score The Chicago State men's basketball team lost to Stephen F. Austin 88-71 on Wednesday in Nacogdoches, Texas at the William R. Johnson Coliseum. It was a tale of two halves for the Cougars who shot 62.5 percent (15-24) from the field in the first 20 minutes but went cold in the second, converting just 29.7 percent (11-37) and watch the Lumberjacks pull away for the 17-point win.
The meeting was the second in less than a week for the Lumberjacks who played the Cougars in back-to-back, away-and-home games, earning an 81-61 victory last Thursday. Chicago State hosted Sam Houston over the weekend between meetings. With the win, the Lumberjacks improved to 9-4 in league play and 17-8 overall while the Cougars dropped to 6-20 overall and 2-11 in the WAC.
Bryce Johnson led four players in double figures for the Cougars with 17 points while
Kedrick Green added 14,
Brandon Betson 12 and
Coreyoun Rushin 11 while Johnson led CSU in rebound with eight.
The teams exchanged hoops to open the game before a 4-0 Lumberjacks run pushed the lead to 6-2.
Kedrick Green cut the gap with a three before an SFA hoop and a pair of free throws and the Lumberjacks doubled up the Cougars early, 10-5.
Brandon Betson hit a three and, following an SFA hoop,
Bryce Johnson converted a layup to cut the margin to 12-10. The Lumberjacks started to pull away with a 9-3 run before Betson and Green hit back-to-back threes to pull back within two, 21-19, and Green tied it with a pair of free throws on CSU's next possession.
Following an SFA basket,
Bryce Johnson scored to knot the score 23-23 but CSU failed to score for the next two minutes and the Lumberjacks took advantage with 10–0 run and 33-23 advantage. Green again stopped the run with a hoop and, following a Lumberjacks free throw, scored on back-to-back possessions, on a
Jahsean Corbett hook shot followed by a Johnson three and CSU cut the 10-point margin to four, 34-30. Betson scored between a pair of SFA layups and Teddy Bayi Ba Mendeng converted a layup, was fouled and made the free throw to cut the lead to 36-35. Following a Lumberjacks free throw, Betson made a driving layup and the score was tied for the first time since the 8:12 mark (23-23), 37-37. SFA scored on their following possession and the teams exchanged baskets in the final minute and the Lumberjacks led 41-39 at the half.
Four minutes into the second half the Cougars cut the lead to one, 47-46, but SFA went on a 19-4 run over the next five minutes to push the margin to 16 points, 66-50, with 10:49 left to play and wouldn't get closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
The Cougars will be back in action Saturday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. welcoming Tarleton to the JCC. The two teams played in Huntsville Feb. 5 with the Cougars dropping a 57-54 decision, erasing a pair of 11-point leads and taking a late lead before losing by three.
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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