Turnovers costly in loss to Western New Mexico
SILVER CITY, N.M- You never expect to get a break when you play on the road, especially in a small town.
The Mountain lions got no breaks Thursday night.
Due largely to a season-high 30 turnovers, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs was beaten 89-65 by the Western New Mexico Mustangs at Drag's Court.
Forget breaks. Commit that many turnovers and they broke it themselves.
"That game was a great example of RMAC basketball," said UCCS coach Russ Caton. "If you don't bring your best game to every conference game, you stand a good chance of getting beat regardless of conference records."
Western New Mexico improved to 5-5, 2-2 in the RMAC. UCCS slipped to 8-3, 2-2 RMAC.
UCCS came into the game with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's top offense, averaging 89.1 points and 23.3 free throw attempts per game. Thursday the Mountain Lions came up 24 points shy of that mark and attempted only 11 free throws.
Western New Mexico's slappy style of defense was effective, resulting in nine steals and forcing numerous other offensive violations. For most of the game's final 30 minutes, the Mountain Lions looked bewildered as to how to advance the ball without drawing a charging or a traveling call.
When they did get a shot attempt, they looked like masons, throwing brick after brick. The Mountain Lions shot 41.8 percent from the field, 14 points below their season average.
Patrick Hannaway led UCCS (8-3, 2-2 RMAC) with 19 points. Joe Scott and Nic Fuller added 15 and 11 respectively.
D.J. Nicholas led four Mustangs in double figures with 17 points.
UCCS led by as many as six in the first half but couldn't keep their team on the floor. With Hannaway, Fuller, Bly McGuire, Eric Davis and Ben Feilmeier all languishing on the bench with foul trouble, Western New Mexico outscored UCCS 20-10 over the final nine minutes.
UCCS closed to within six with 14:49 left in the game but folded down the stretch.
Kyle Perkins, who played 29 minutes, was the only UCCS starter to stay in the game for more than 22 minutes.
UCCS Players/Staff Featured | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Patrick Hannaway | 34 | G/F | Sr. |
 | Patrick Hannaway | 34 | G/F | Sr. |
 | Bly McGuire | 33 | C | Sr. |
| Bly McGuire | 33 | C | Sr. |
 | Eric Davis | 35 | F | Fr. |
 | Eric Davis | 35 | F | So. |
| Additional News Stories | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| October 22, 2007 |  | Lions help kick off Red Ribbon Week at CSDB | There are times when sight and sound are definitely overrated. |
| September 27, 2007 |  | UCCS men picked fourth in preseason poll | After qualifying for their second playoff berth in school history in the 2006-07 season, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs men's basketball team was chosen to finish fourth in the East Division in the annual Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. |
| May 30, 2007 |  | Hannaway named RMAC Scholar-Athlete | Patrick Hannaway was named the RMAC male Scholar-Athletes of the year for the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, the conference announced Wednesday. |
| May 10, 2007 | Caton Signs California Shooter | Having already signed five players, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs men's basketball coach made it a six pack by adding Jared Giammona, a 6-foot-1 guard from Santa Rosa, Calif. | |
| May 2, 2007 | | Hannaway awarded postgraduate scholarship | Patrick Hannaway became the first University of Colorado at Colorado Springs student-athlete to be awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. |
 |  |  |  |