The Chicago State Cougars were bound to get a conference win at some point. Unfortunately, for the CBU Lancers, that day came on Saturday afternoon at the Jones Convocation Center.
Brandon Betson hit a floater with 1.5 seconds to play and Chicago State knocked off the Lancers 58-56 to earn their first WAC win since March 3, 2018. Betson finished with 10 points for the Cougars. All 10 of those points came in the second half.
Tie game, shot clock off, no timeouts…
Who else?#OurChampionshipEra pic.twitter.com/0on5MCVVz8
— Chicago State Men's Basketball (@ChicagoStateMBB) January 8, 2022
Jahsean Corbett led the Cougars with 13 points. Ali Dibba and Dom Alexander were also in double figures for Chicago State with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Dan Akin had a game-high 17 points for the Lancers. CBU played without freshman point guard Taran Armstrong in the second half. The report is Armstrong was still dealing with a hand injury.
In a stark contrast to Thursday night, Chicago State brought the energy on Saturday afternoon. The Cougars managed any runs CBU put together. A big part of that was attacking the offensive glass. Chicago State had 11 offensive rebounds that led to 12 second-chance points.
Perhaps Chicago State saw what Seattle did to beat them on Thursday night, which was attack the offensive glass. Jahsean Corbett and Ali Dibba were all over the glass on Saturday. Corbett pulled down nine rebounds while Dibba had three.
CBU never found its offensive rhythm in its WAC opener. Credit to the Chicago State defense that forced 11 rebounds and forced the Lancers off the perimeter. CBU made just six 3-pointers in the loss.
Perhaps the biggest key to the game was Chicago State taking care of the basketball. Chicago State commits right around 17 turnovers per game. On Saturday, the Cougars had just four turnovers. It is a good thing Chicago State took care of the ball. The Cougars shot just 37 percent from the field and 30 percent from deep.
But, not matter how you cut it, the Cougars did something that hasn’t been done in nearly four years. The Cougars won a conference game. Chicago State improves to 5-12 overall and 1-3 in WAC play. CBU drops to 10-4 overall and 0-1 in WAC play.
Next up for the Cougars is a trip to South Texas to take on UTRGV on Thursday. CBU hosts Dixie State on Wednesday night at the CBU Events Center.
Cougars pick up their first conference win since March 3, 2018 pic.twitter.com/4XwQI55bsD
— Chicago State Men's Basketball (@ChicagoStateMBB) January 8, 2022
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