Men’s basketball starts CIT showing strong with 90-71 win over Cougars

Senior forward Noah Schutte (12) speeds toward the basket to make a shot (photo from previous game).

Photo credit: Maddy Peters

By Maddy Peters

Sports Editor

The Concordia men’s basketball team started off their run in the Concordia Invitational Tournament with a 90-71 win over the Concordia University Chicago Cougars Friday afternoon in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The first men’s basketball game in the 72nd annual CIT event was a showcase of athleticism and competition. Nebraska was able to take an early lead in the game, but Chicago always kept the Bulldogs on their toes and made them fight for every point.

Concordia Chicago put up a valiant defense for most of the game. They held a slight lead over Nebraska for the first five minutes of the game but were eventually overtaken by the likes of senior Tristan Smith. Smith led the team in points for the game with 22, 19 of which were scored in the first half.

Smith achieved a double-double leading the team in rebounds as well with 12. Defensively, Smith had some monster blocks throughout the game and tallied up four on the stat sheet alongside two steals. Smith also added another highlight to his ever-growing reel with a behind the back dunk off a quick pass from sophomore Brooks Kissinger.

Concordia Nebraska ended the half 47-31. A great lead for the Bulldogs, but the Cougars were not down and out yet. Chicago’s main threat of the game was Jacob Collicott. He was the team leader in points for the Cougars with 15, but the main concern was that he almost got a double-double—in steals. Collicott recorded eight steals in the game along with seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

Collicott came alive in the second half for the Cougars and threatened to gather steam and mount a comeback. The Bulldogs suffered four turnovers in a row to start off the second as Chicago cut the lead back to single digits.

Nebraska was able to pull through and maintain their lead over the Cougars despite the challenges and take the win. Sophomore Hayden Frank anchored the team in the latter half of the game adding 12 points to his stat tab for a total of 17 points in the game.

Collicott’s efficiency was a major sticking point for Chicago. He was 5-19 on field goals and 1-4 on three-pointers. Had he been more successful with shooting, Nebraska would have had a much closer contest.

Senior Noah Schutte, the CIT MVP in 2023 and 2024 was noticeably quiet with 13 points off a 6-9 field goal ratio and hitting his only attempted three-pointer. Schutte had four rebounds as well. If selected for MVP in 2025, he would be the first athlete to have three back-to-back titles.

Joining Smith, Frank and Schutte in the double digits club was freshman guard Elijah Gaeth with 10 points. Gaeth also recorded seven rebounds as well as two steals to make for a solid outing for the Bulldog’s first CIT.

The 16-4 overall Bulldog men look for a four-peat CIT championship with a game against tournament host Concordia Ann Arbor on Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST. The stream to the game can be found for free at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/cuaacardinals/. Concordia’s Dog House Grill will also be hosting a watch party for both championship games in the basement of the Janzow Campus Center.