DENVER – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs cut a 13-point second half deficit down to two points with 1 minute, 56 seconds, to play, but the Mountain Lions couldn't complete the comeback in a 65-59 loss at MSU Denver tonight at the Auraria Event Center. Elijah Ross led the Mountain Lions (11-14, 10-10 RMAC) with 13 points and five assists.

The Mountain Lions made nine of their first 10 shots from the field and took a 20-17 lead with 10:51 left in the first half. UCCS and MSU Denver tied nine times and exchanged the lead 10 times in the first half, and the Roadrunners made the final lead change of the period with 54 seconds left and took the 33-32 halftime advantage.

MSU Denver opened the second half with eight straight points as part of a larger 11-2 run and opened a 44-34 lead at the 16:46 mark. The Mountain Lions brought it back to a four-point game at 46-42 after a three-pointer from Brandon Malone with 14:17 to play, but the Roadrunners responded with a 10-1 run to take a 13-point lead at 56-43 with 10:37 remaining.

The UCCS defense held the Roadrunners scoreless for more than three minutes to make it a two-possession game at 56-50 at 7:30, but MSU Denver gradually opened a nine-point lead at 60-51 with 3:45 left. The Mountain Lions scored on the next three possessions, with a layup and free throw from Tim Haas, jumper from Blend Avdili and layup from Justin Smith, to make it a two-point game with 1:56 remaining at 60-58.

The Mountain Lions forced MSU Denver turnovers on its next two possessions, but couldn't score on their own possessions to cut the lead further. UCCS was forced to start fouling to stop the clock, and the Roadrunners went five-of-eight in the final minute in the six-point decision.

Ian MacDonald led the scoring effort early for the Mountain Lions with nine points in the first 10 minutes of the game and finished with 12. It was his best scoring performance since Dec. 10, 2016, at Regis. Justin Smith scored 11 points and led UCCS with eight rebounds. Avdili made a season-high three steals.

UCCS is tied for seventh in the RMAC standings with two games left in the regular season. The Mountain Lions clinched a spot in the conference tournament after Westminster is removed from the standings because of its transition to NCAA Division II. UCCS will play for seeding in its next two games on Friday at Colorado Mines or on Saturday at Colorado Christian.