The Chicago State men's basketball team remained undefeated at home in five contests with a 101-66 victory over Aurora Saturday afternoon at the Jones Convocation Center in Chicago. The Cougars opened the game with a 22-3 run and never looked back, leading most of the second half by 30 or more points on the strength of a career-high 29 points from
Bryce Johnson. Chicago State entered the game with their first four-game home win streak since the 2013-14 season and now matched that team with its fifth straight home win. CSU will now take aim at extending the streak to match the next longest streak, eight home games bridging two seasons, winning five in a row to end the 2008-09 season and the first three home games of the 2009-10 season.
In addition to Johnson's career high 29 points, three other players scored in double figures as Wesley Cardet added 27,
Jahsean Corbett 14 and
Brent Davis 11. Six different players connected from beyond the three-point line, including
Arol Kacuol and
Charles Fofanah who both made their first collegiate threes.
The next action for Chicago State's men's basketball team will be the first of three consecutive road games, traveling to Charleston, South Carolina to face The Citadel at McAlister Field House on Monday, January 30 at 6 p.m. The Cougars enter the contest with a 6-17 record and face a Citadel team checking in with a 9-13 record including a 4-5 mark at home.
1st Half - Chicago State 50, Aurora 24
Bryce Johnson scored 22 first-half points as the host Cougars doubled up Aurora 50-24 through the first 20 minutes of play
Chicago State opened the game with a 22-3 run with scoring contributions by
Bryce Johnson,
Jahsean Corbett,
Brent Davis, Wesley Cardet and
Elijah Weaver
Aurora managed a modest 5-2 run to cut the lead to 16, 24-8, at the 9:58 mark but that's the closest the Spartans would get the remainder of the game
Bryce Johnson hit a three to stop the run and the lead was back to 19 and it would remain in that range before an 8-2 CSU run expanded the lead to 25, 41-16, with 4:45 remaining
Chicago State closed the half with a 6-2 run and the Cougars went into the locker room at halftime with their largest lead of the game, 26 points, 50-24
2nd Half - Chicago State 51, Aurora 42
The Cougars opened the second half with a 7-0 run and the lead was 33 points, 57-24, at the 17:49 mark
Aurora managed a 12-4 run over the next three minutes to cut the lead to 25 but that's as close as the game would get
A quick 8-2 Cougars run and the lead was back to 31 at the 12:39 mark
The lead remained around 30 for the final 12 minutes and Chicago State closed the game with a 7-0 run for the 35-point win
Chicago State 101, Aurora 66
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 won the 2011 Great West regular season and tournament championship and earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational. The 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. During that same season, three different CSU teams earned victories over Big Ten opponents with men's soccer beating Northwestern, women's basketball upending Wisconsin and volleyball, which established a school record 17 wins and hosted a post-season volleyball tournament for the first time in program history, swept Indiana in Bloomington.
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