COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's basketball team used its best shooting performance of the season to finish 2016 with an 82-65 victory tonight against Western State at the Gallogly Events Center. The Mountain Lions (4-8, 3-4 RMAC) shot 56 percent from the field on 32-of-57 shooting, led by Elijah Ross' 19 points.

Western State (2-9, 1-6 RMAC) scored the first three points of the night but UCCS scored the next 11 as part of a larger 19-3 run to build a 19-6 lead in the first six minutes. The Mountaineers pulled back as close as nine points with 49 seconds left in the half but Ross closed out the half with a pair of free throws to make it a 43-32 halftime lead for UCCS.

The Mountain Lions shot 52 percent in the first half, and improved to 61 percent in the second half. UCCS led by at least 15 points for the final 13 minutes of the game and led by as much as 24 points with 3:10 to play. No student-athlete played more than 10 minutes in the second half for Head Coach Jeff Culver and eight different Mountain Lions scored during the final period in a balanced 39-point output.

Ross made seven of his nine shots from the field and was a perfect three-of-three from beyond the arc and two-of-two at the free throw line. Justin Smith added 13 points and shared the team lead of eight rebounds with TreShawn Wilford. Ian MacDonald and Blend Avdili both scored 10 points to round out the leading scorers. Wilford added five assists and five steals to lead UCCS in both categories.

The Mountain Lions will close out a five-game home stand next weekend with a Friday game with Adams State and a Saturday game with Fort Lewis. Both games will tip-off at 7:30 p.m., at the Gallogly Events Center.