MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — Peregrine freshman Joey Elabed (Morton) drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to close a valiant effort by the underdogs, but it was one-point short of sending the game to overtime. Third-seeded Cardinal Stritch University survived an opening round upset in a 74-73 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference playoff victory.

With 46 seconds left, sophomore guard Antonio McNeal (Gavit) penetrated the lane and found junior forward Charles Cruz (Gavit) alone at the 3-point stripe and flipped the ball to Cruz who splashed in a 3-pointer giving the Peregines a 70-69 lead.

After a Wolves timeout, Spencer Peck hit a 3-pointer giving the home team a 72-70 lead with 22 seconds to play. The Peregrines called a timeout to setup a final shot that missed with nine seconds left. Stritch’s Chad Dekker grabbed the rebound and passed to teammate Stephen Sorensen who hit a 12-foot jumper for the winning basket with four seconds left setting up Elabed’s final shot.

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HAMMOND, Ind. — The Peregrines open the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference playoffs facing Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wisc., on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Cardinal Stritch won both regular season matchups; 65-42 in January and 85-72 last Saturday in the PUC Recreation Center.

REC CENTER — A 51 shooting success rate from the field in the second half helped Cardinal Stritch University overcome a one-point halftime deficit to end the first 20 minutes as the Wolves beat the home team Peregrines, 85-72, in the final regular season game of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

The Wolves (17-13, 8-4 CCAC) heated up in the second half and dumped in 30 points in the paint and hit 15-of-29 from the field to end a Peregrine upset and sweep the Division II season series. The Peregrines (6-22, 4-8)held a 47-46 lead at the break, but could only muster an 8-for-28 performance from the field in the second half leading to the loss.

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DEERFIELD, Ill. — Closing games has been a season-long struggle with a young Peregrine squad, and Wednesday night’s game was another frustrating finish. Trinity International University, who beat the Peregrines in overtime last month at the PUC Recreation Athletic Center, swept the season series overcoming a 17-point deficit with a 69-63 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory.

The Peregrines (6-21, 4-7 CCAC) opened the game on a 9-2 run and stretched the lead to a commanding 39-22 at halftime. But the offense struggled in the second half scoring 13 points in 13-minutes of action.

The Trojans (7-21, 3-8) continued to close the gap and grabbed their first lead of the game, 53-52, with under seven minutes to play in regulation. Both teams traded leads in the final minutes, and the Trojans pushed their lead to 67-63 with 28 seconds left.

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WESTVILLE, Ind. — Peregrine freshman guard Josh Collins (MacArthur, San Antonio, Tex.) was hot early and finished the day hitting 66 percent from the field to lead all scorers with 21 points. Three other Peregrines hit the double-digit mark as PUC beat its sister school, PNC, 74-51, in a Saturday afternoon Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup.

Collins’ 21 points included four 3-pointers, and he also dished out a pair of assists in 25 minutes of action. Sophomore guard Antonio McNeal (Gavit) was perfect from the field and the foul line connecting for 13 points, and he grabbed three rebounds.

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