Alamosa, Colo. – University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's basketball holds on to defeat Adams State University at a final score of 85-78 on Saturday night with Alijah Comithier posting his first career double-double to help the Mountain Lions secure the conference road sweep.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP: 
Final: UCCS 85, ASU 78
Records: UCCS (7-1, 2-0 RMAC), ASU (5-3, 1-1 RMAC)
Location: Plachy Hall | Alamosa, Colo.
Series: UCCS trails Adams State 21-32 in the all-time series with the Mountain Lions currently holding a two-game win streak over the Grizzlies.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• A tight first half leaned in favor of the Mountain Lions after a 41-33 lead was a result of UCCS crushing the Grizzlies in boards, 23-9, as 13 of the Mountain Lions' rebounds were on the offensive side of the ball to help register 15 second chance points.
• ASU grabbed the lead two separate times early on in the game but it was Jon'il Fugett and Geoff Kelly who hit back-to-back three-pointers to start an 8-0 UCCS run as the initial Fugett three at 16:43 gave the Mountain Lions their first lead of the game.
• UCCS held on tight to the lead for the remainder of the half with the Mountain Lions continuously answering back on ASU buckets as Bobby Martin shot a flawless 4-of-4 from the field for eight points in the half. Then it was Johnnie Jones III who played a big role behind UCCS' stellar first half rebounding performance as the senior grabbed five boards including four offensive rebounds, all while finishing off an and-one play with 1:48 left to record nine points for the half.
• After capping off the first half with a buzzer beating three from Fugett, William Becker and the Mountain Lions maintained momentum into the second half as Becker threw down a jam at 19:20 to spark a 12-4 scoring run that resulted in the Mountain Lions' largest lead of the game, 53-37.
• Alijah Comthier and Fugett helped keep the Grizzlies at bay for most of the half by combining for 20 points and four steals with two each in the half.
• Despite facing a double-digit UCCS lead for over 18 minutes, Adams State managed to work their way back to a nine-point deficit at the 1:06 mark. The Grizzlies made two consecutive jumpers and followed it up with a four-point play off a made three-pointer with 34 seconds left to make it 79-73.
• With the game winding down the Mountain Lions were forced to the charity line where they would make 6-of-6 to put the game out of reach to eventually seal the 85-78 win.

STATS FROM THE DAY:
• UCCS more than doubled Adams State in rebounds, 45-27, and outscored the Grizzlies in second chance points, 21-8.
• Alijah Comithier walks away with his first career double-double with a 23-point and career high 10-rebound performance after going 9-of-17 (52.9 percent) from the field and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.
• Nine of the team's 17 assists came from Geoff Kelly and Jezza McKenzie who finished with five and four assists, respectively.  
• Jon'il Fugett finished the night shooting 62.5 percent from the field and 60 percent from beyond the arc to notch 16 points while also adding two steals and three rebounds.
• William Becker grabs six rebounds in his third double-digit performance of the season as he shot 80 percent from the field (4-of-5) and 2-of-2 from the charity line to register 10 points.
• UCCS finished with a 47.1 shooting percentage after going 32-of-68 from the field. The Mountain Lions had seven more shot attempts than the Grizzlies as ASU shot 49.2 percent (30-of-61).

BEYOND THE BOX:
• The Mountain Lions posted a rebound margin of plus 18 for the second consecutive game.
• UCCS made more three-pointers in the first half of Saturday's night game than all of Friday's game against CSU Pueblo (5-4).
• As a team, the Mountain Lions have registered a double-double in half of their games (four).
• Head Coach Jeff Culver starts RMAC play 2-0 for the third time in his career.

UP NEXT:
• UCCS Men's Basketball will be back in front of their home crowd on Saturday, Dec. 11 as the Mountain Lions take on Colorado School of Mines at 7:30 p.m. inside Gallogly Events Center.  
 
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.