COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Elijah Ross put the University of Colorado Colorado Springs up by three points at 74-71 with a pair of free throws with 15 seconds to play, but Chadron State couldn't covert on three free throws with 1.4 seconds to play as the Mountain Lions (11-13, 10-9 RMAC) held off the Eagles (2-21, 2-17 RMAC) for a 74-73 win tonight. Senior TreShawn Wilford led the scoring for the Mountain Lions with 16 points in the final regular season game in his career at the Gallogly Events Center.

UCCS used a 10-0 run midway through the first half to open a 21-10 lead with eight minutes left in the period. Chadron State closed out the half with seven straight points to take a 33-32 lead into intermission. Justin Smith led the Mountain Lions with nine points and six rebounds at halftime.

The Eagles continued the rally from the end of the first half with a 10-2 start to the second half for a 43-34 advantage with 16:45 to play. Chadron State gradually opened its lead to 11 points at 57-46 with 9:38 left before the Mountain Lion defense responded with an 11-3 run to cut the lead down to 60-57 during the next three minutes.

The Eagles made their first field goal in nearly six minutes on a layup with 6:19 to play to make it a 62-57 advantage, but Ross made a layup on the next possession, drew a foul and converted on the free throw to make it a 62-60 game. Ross' three points started a 10-1 run for the Mountain Lions that provided the first UCCS of the second half at 67-63 with 3:19 remaining.

Blend Avdili expanded the UCCS lead to 70-65 on a three-pointer with 2:44 to play, and after Chadron State made a layup and converted on a free throw after a Mountain Lion foul, Justin Smith made it a two possession game again on a layup at 72-68 with 2:01 remaining.  The Eagles cut the lead down to one point with a layup at the 1:25 mark and made one of two free throws with a minute to play.

A shot clock violation by UCCS provided Chadron State with the opportunity to take the lead, but a missed three pointer and a rebound by Geoff Kelly with 20 seconds to play forced the Eagles to foul. Ross converted on the two free throws to make it a three-point lead at 74-71 with 15 seconds left. Chadron State took a three-point shot with four seconds to play but was able to secure the offensive rebound after the ball went out of bounds off a Mountain Lion student-athlete with 1.4 seconds to play.

The Eagles drew a foul with 0.6 seconds to play on a three-point shot, and converted on the first two to pull within one point. The final free throw bounced off the back of the rim, and Ross controlled the rebound to secure the 74-71 victory.

Smith finished with 15 points and shared the rebounding lead with Wilford. Ross made six assists in his best performance in five games and Avdili led the bench scoring with 11 points. UCCS matched the team season-high with six blocks tonight, led by two from Ed Bourke.

The Mountain Lions are seventh in the RMAC standings with three games left in the regular season, and will take on the team a game ahead of them, MSU Denver, in the next game on Saturday, Feb. 18. The Roadrunners (15-10, 11-8 RMAC) fell 82-80 against Regis earlier tonight.