LAS VEGAS, N.M. – UCCS Men's Basketball holds on win another tight one but this time on the road as the Mountain Lions fend off New Mexico Highlands University at a final score of 82-78 inside John A. Wilson Complex on Tuesday night.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP: 
Final: UCCS 82, NMHU 78
Records: UCCS (13-6, 7-5 RMAC), NMHU (6-10, 1-9 RMAC)
Location: John A. Wilson Complex | Las Vegas, N.M.
Series: Under Head Coach Jeff Culver, UCCS holds a 11-3 record over the Cowboys.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• UCCS and New Mexico Highlands went shot-for-shot early and often with the Cowboys netting the first baskets by attacking the rim and forcing two shots from the charity stripe within the first 30 seconds of the game. Freshman Mac Stodart answered on the opposite end with a driving layup as Jezza McKenzie hit a three-pointer one possession later to make it 5-4 in favor of UCCS at 17:53.
• Both teams went back and forth with William Becker making his first appearance in three games to score six of the next seven UCCS points as the Cowboys followed right behind and swung the game in their favor with four trips to the free throw line and three made field-goals, making it 14-12 with just over 11 minutes left in the half.
• The Mountain Lions went on to put their three-point shooting on display with their next 12 points coming from beyond the arc as Jon'il Fugett drained two threes to keep up with a Cowboy offense that was with UCCS every step of the way. Fugett's second three-pointer at 7:38 gave UCCS a short lived 24-22 lead as NMHU pushed ahead to grab their largest lead of the game of six points at 2:20 after Desmond Carpenter capped off a 12-point half with a layup to make it 32-26.
• As the Cowboys found their way to the free-throw line to finish 8-of-10 for the half, Geoff Kelly swung two attempts UCCS' way in the final 30 seconds to make both shots and cut the deficit to just two points heading into halftime, 34-32.
• The second half was as tightly contested as the first half with the game being tied 10 different times in the final 20 minutes. UCCS got the half going with a quick 7-0 run that began with an easy Alijah Comithier layup and was finished with a made free throw from Wyatt Dolberry as the Mountain Lions captured a 39-34 lead at 16:32.
• New Mexico Highlands battled back once again after an Andre Adams and-one play put the lead in the Cowboys' hands at a score of 60-57 at the 8:34 mark. But the Mountain Lions kept the pressure on as McKenzie answered with a game-tying three-pointer with just over eight minutes left.
• After another NMHU shot from Adams put the Cowboys ahead, Fugett helped put the Mountain Lions in the driver's seat and retake the lead with a pull-up jump shot from atop the arc to make it a 63-62 UCCS advantage. UCCS held onto the lead for over three minutes before the Cowboys tied the game at 71-71 and came back to tie once more at 73-73 with 2:45 to go.
• A perfect field-goal percentage in the first half carried over into the second half for Becker as he grabbed an offensive board and laid it back in for two to give UCCS a lead that they would not relinquish. After Becker gave UCCS a two-point cushion with 2:33 left, Comithier scored the final seven points with a made three-pointer and four from the charity stripe to ice the game, 82-78.

STATS FROM THE DAY:
• UCCS held the advantage in field-goal percentage, three-point percentage, and free throw percentage by shooting 48.1 percent (26-of-54), 37 percent (10-of-27), and 80 percent (20-of-25), respectively. Meanwhile, NMHU shot 46.2 percent (30-of-65) from the field, 17.6 percent (3-of-17) from long range, and 70 percent from the charity stripe (7-of-10).
• Five Mountain Lions scored double-digit points on Tuesday night with William Becker leading the way as he came off the bench for 17 points. Becker shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the field and gathered a team high nine rebounds.
• Alijah Comithier matched Becker's nine rebounds while adding 14 points and a season high three blocks.
• Jon'il Fugett notched a season high four steals and scored 13 points as he and Jezza McKenzie made a team high three three-pointers.
 • New Mexico Highlands' Marcus Brown led all scorers with 19 points.

BEYOND THE BOX:
• UCCS held the Cowboys to their lowest three-point percentage of the season (17.6).
• Comithier's three blocks sets a new career high.
• Fugett extends his streak to six straight games with more than one made three-pointer with Bobby Martin making at least one three-pointer in the last five games.
• This the fourth time this season that the Mountain Lions have shot 80 percent or better from the free throw line.

UP NEXT:
• UCCS Men's Basketball will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 29 as the Mountain Lions travel to Rapid City, S.D. to take on South Dakota School of Mines at 7 p.m.  
 
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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.