CHADRON, Neb. – University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's basketball stays perfect on the road for the 2021-22 season as the Mountain Lions outlast Chadron State College on Saturday night, 66-60.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP: 
Final: UCCS 66, CSC 60
Records: UCCS (8-2, 3-1 RMAC), CSC (5-8, 1-4 RMAC)
Location: Chicoine Center | Chadron, Neb.
Series: UCCS leads the all-time series 27-14 over Chadron State as the Mountain Lions have won four consecutive games against the Eagles.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• UCCS won the tip-off and went straight to the line 10 seconds in the game as Alijah Comithier made a pair of free throws to give the Mountain Lions an early lead. Marcus Jefferson and the Eagles came back on the opposite end to complete an and-one play to give the Eagles their first lead at 19:35.
• The lead would trade hands a total of seven different times throughout the half with the game being all tied up a total of five times. After Chadron State captured their second lead of the game at 16:50, the Mountain Lions reversed momentum to their side by going on a 10-0 run to record their third lead of the game as William Becker ignited the run by scoring the first four points to help grab the lead 15-7 at the 13:07 mark.
• The Eagles worked their way back once again to make it a one-point game at 19-18 with eight minutes left, but UCCS proceeded to make three long range jumpers in the following two minutes as Mac Stodart accounted for two of the three-pointers as his six-point first half gave the Mountain Lions their largest lead of the game, 28-20.
• UCCS led the half for over 15 minutes, but the Eagles continued to hang around as CSC scored the final six points down the stretch to take the lead with 52 seconds left and enter halftime with the three-point lead, 35-32.
• Coming out of halftime, Chadron State opened the second half with a KJ Harris three and CJ Jenning jumper to give the Eagles their largest lead of the game, 40-32.
• The Chadron State lead lasted six minutes as the Mountain Lions began to chip away and retake the lead at 14:05 after a 14-2 run put the game at 46-42. Geoff Kelly got UCCS back into a rhythm with a drained three at 18:04 as Alijah Comithier was responsible for six of the 14 points to put the Mountain Lions in the driver's seat.
• Comithier went on to total 20 points in the half as the Mountain Lions locked it down on defense with William Becker notching two blocks to help keep the Eagles at bay as UCCS held on to a 61-55 lead in the final minutes.
• After Comithier was drawn to the line and hit his two free-throw attempts, the Eagles traveled right down to hit a Harris three-pointer with 1:27 left to make it a one score game. Out of the timeout, CSC regained possession and went coast-to-coast to bring the game to 61-60 as the Mountain Lions still maintained the one-point lead with 51 seconds on the clock.
• UCCS was then successful in answering back as a driving layup from Jezza McKenzie gave the Mountain Lions a three-point cushion at 63-60. A missed free-throw put the ball back in the Eagles' hands but a defensive stand led by a Kelly steal and dish to Comithier for a lay in put the game away for UCCS to win, 66-60.

STATS FROM THE DAY:
• UCCS out-rebounded Chadron State, 39-36, as the Mountain Lions went on to register 28 defensive and 11 offensive rebounds.
• Alijah Comithier went off in the second half as he ended with a game high 26 points as he shot 6-of-14 from the field for 42.9 percent while shooting a stellar 13-of-14 from the charity stripe.
• William Becker was a force on both sides of the ball with 10 points, team high nine rebounds, and an impressive five blocks.  
• Jon'il Fugett, Geoff Kelly, and Alijah Comithier each had two steals to account for six of the team's nine steals. Kelly also dished out a game high seven assists as he recorded five points and three rebounds.
• As a team, UCCS posted double-digit blocks with 10 total as the Mountain Lions tallied 16 points off the bench, including six from Mac Stodart who went 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.
• The Mountain Lions finished 36.8 percent from the field (21-of-57) as the Eagles shot 41.7 percent (25-of-60).

BEYOND THE BOX:
• The Mountain Lions tied the program's second most blocked shots in a single game on Saturday night.
• William Becker sets a new career high with five blocked shots as he ties Derrick White with the fourth most blocked shots in a single game in program history.
• Alijah Comithier registers his seventh consecutive game of scoring 20 or more points as he sets a new career high with 13 made free-throws.
• Geoff Kelly also sets a new career high with seven assists in the win.
• UCCS remains perfect on the road with a 5-0 away record in the 2021-22 season.
 
UP NEXT:
• UCCS Men's Basketball will travel to Spearfish, S.D. to take on Black Hills State University tomorrow afternoon with tip-off slated for 4 p.m.  
 
SOCIAL:
Twitter - @GoMountainLions
Instagram - @gomountainlions 
Facebook – Go Mountain Lions
 
As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.