Box Score After winning their first-ever Division I postseason game Saturday against No 2 UC San Diego, the Chicago State men's basketball team, the No. 15 seed, just fell short against No. 7 Fairfield 77-74 in the quarterfinals of the Ro College Basketball Invitational Monday at Ocean Arena in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The Cougars, playing in their first postseason tournament since 2013, posted their 13th win of the season Saturday, which is the most victories in a season since that 2013 season.
The Stags jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead prompting a time out by head coach Gerald Gillion. The Cougars responded with a 5-0 run of their own, the first of three first-half ties. Fairfield went up eight at the 9:15 mark but a 6-0 run cut the margin to two. CSU took their first, and only, lead of the game when
A.J. Neal put Chicago State up 31-30. Neal shouldered the early scoring load for the Cougars with 13 points in the first 15 minutes. The Stags regained the lead on the next possession and eventually took a 39-35 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Fairfield scored the first four points of the second half to go up eight, 43-35, and expanded the margin to 12 at the 10:10 mark, 60-48. The Stags led by 10 when Wesley Cardet starting taking over the game for Chicago State, converting a pair of free throws, a dunk and a jumper to pull the Cougars to within four, 64-60. Following a Stags free throw, Cardet nailed a jumper to pull CSU within three, 65-62.
With 1:48 remaining and trailing by five,
Jahsean Corbett converted a layup and, following a Stags three, countered with a three of his own and the Fairfield lead was three with just over a minute to play. The Stags hit a big three to go up six with :36 remaining when
Noble Crawford made a layup and free throw to half the lead and give the Cougars a chance in the closing seconds. CSU fouled and the Stags converted to push the lead to 77-72 with :10 left in regulation. Cardet hit a jumper and gained possession following a Stags missed free throw but was fouled behind the three point line on a non-shooting foul and he missed the front end for the eventual 77-74 final.
The Cougars had three scorers in double figures led by Cardet who had 25 points while
A.J. Neal had 18 and
Noble Crawford 14.
About Chicago State Athletics
Chicago State University competes in the Northeast Conference (effective July 2024) and sponsors 16 Division I intercollegiate athletics teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, triathlon and volleyball.
Follow the Cougars
For complete coverage of Chicago State University athletics, follow us on social media @ChiStateCougars (Twitter), @ChiStateCougars (Instagram), /ChiStateCougars (Facebook), or visit the official home of Chicago State athletics at GoCSUCougars.com.
