COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's basketball struggle in the second half as they drop a 78-71 result to Colorado Mesa University on Friday night inside the Gallogly Events Center.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP: 
Final: CMU 78, UCCS 71
Records: UCCS (8-4, 3-3 RMAC), CMU (11-5, 5-2 RMAC)
Location: Gallogly Events Center | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Series: UCCS trails the all-time series against CMU 10-41 with the Mavericks winning the last five games in the series.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• CMU grabbed possession from the tip-off, but it was the Mountain Lions who put the first points up as Alijah Comithier recorded two of his 13 first half points with a layup at 18:53.
• UCCS was able to work to a 4-0 lead with a William Becker dunk that came off a Jezza McKenzie steal at the 18:26 mark as the Mountain Lions captured early momentum. CMU quickly worked back into the game by grabbing their largest lead of the half at 14:59 as Georgie Dancer hit one of the Mavericks' three three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes to register a 15-11 lead.
• In a closely contested first half that saw eight lead changes, the Mountain Lions were able to capture their third lead of the half by causing a CMU turnover that resulted in a McKenzie layup for the 24-22 lead with five minutes left. The lead then traded hands four more times before Comithier helped push the Mountain Lions ahead into halftime by starting a 10-4 run in the remaining minutes that Wyatt Dolberry capped off with two free-throws to claim a 36-31 lead.
• UCCS came out of the half with possession and drove straight to the basket with William Becker giving the Mountain Lions their largest lead of the game at 38-31 off a layup at 19:36. From there, the Mavericks slowly chipped away at the UCCS lead as they caused one of nine turnovers in the second half to capitalize on a made field-goal at 15:24 to take the lead, 41-39.
• The Mountain Lions continued to stay aggressive in the paint where Dolberry and Comithier drew two trips to the charity stripe and knocked down all four free-throws to take the lead once again at 12:57, bringing the score to 42-41. Another UCCS turnover turned into points for the Mavericks as they regained the lead off a made jumper in the paint at 11:39, but off the bench was Noah Baca who hit a big three at 11:15 to bring it the score back to even, 46-46.
• CMU came to answer with a three-pointer of their own from Jared Small in the very next possession that gave the Mavericks the lead for good. The Mavericks worked to a 10-point lead with just over a minute left as the Mountain Lions battled back to make it a four-point game.
 • Jon'il Fugett scored seven of his 10 second half points in a thirty second window to bring the game to 75-71 with just 16 seconds left. But the Mavericks would ice the game at the free-throw line to come away with the win, 78-71.
 
STATS FROM THE DAY:
• UCCS was outshot 47.4 percent (27-of-57) to 38.7 percent (24-of-62) from the field as the Mountain Lions out-rebounded the Mavericks 39-38 in the game. CMU also outshot the Mountain Lions from beyond the arc by finishing 6-of-20 for 30 percent as UCCS shot 4-of-22 for 18.2 percent.
• CMU had five double-digit scorers with Georgie Dancer and Jared Small each scoring a game high 20 points.  
• Each team turned the ball over 15 times in the game as the Mountain Lions recorded 16 points off turnovers compared to CMU's 13 points. UCCS gave the ball away nine time in the second half with CMU giving up six in the closing 20 minutes.
• Jon'il Fugett paced the Mountain Lions in scoring by putting up 21 points off 8-of-14 from the field and 4-of-7 from the charity stripe. Fugett also claimed a team high two steals as he gathered in five rebounds.   
• Alijah Comithier was right behind Fugett with 19 points on 6-of-16 from the field as he finished 7-of-10 from the free-throw line with five rebounds and a team high four assists.
• William Becker and Wyatt Dolberry each grabbed a team high eight rebounds with Becker registering three of the team's five blocks. Dolberry wrapped up the night with seven points as Becker turned in nine points on 3-of-5 field-goals and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.
• Four different Mountain Lions hit a three in the loss with Noach Baca, Bobby Martin, and Dolberry all coming off the bench to record a three-pointer.

BEYOND THE BOX:
• The Mountain Lions put up their second worst shooting performance of the season with 38.7 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from three-point range.
• Jon'il Fugett notches a season high 21 points and ties his season high five rebounds.
• UCCS is 0-2 at home in RMAC play this season.

UP NEXT:
• UCCS Men's Basketball is back on the hardwood tomorrow evening as they host Westminster College at 7:30 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.