PUEBLO, Colo. – University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's basketball used an all-around effort on Saturday to push ahead to a 4-0 start on the season as the Mountain Lions downed Spurgeon College at a final score of 102-67 in the Al Kaly Shrine Classic, hosted by Colorado State University Pueblo.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: UCCS 102, Spurgeon 67
Records: UCCS (4-0, 0-0 RMAC), Spurgeon (6-2, 2-0 NCCAA)
Location: Massari Arena| Pueblo, Colo.
Series: After the first-ever matchup between both programs, UCCS now leads the all-time series 1-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• Saturday's neutral site game had Spurgeon College getting on the board first with the Knights holding on to the their only lead of the game for just 10 seconds before
Mac Stodart broke things open for the Mountain Lions with a layup while making his way to the charity stripe to knock down three free throws for a 5-3 lead in the opening 90 seconds of play.
• The Knights struggled to find an answer for an attacking Mountain Lion offense that worked themselves to the free throw line early and often by netting five free throws to help fuel a 12-0 run that eclipsed five and a half minutes to extend the Mountain Lion lead out to 25-10 at the 9:17 mark.
• The Mountain Lions continued their fastbreak gameplan for a remainder of the first period with Keegan Philips and
Noah Baca both finding their first points of the game as Philips knocked down two free throws at the line off the fastbreak and Baca making a layup right before the buzzer for a 51-31 lead. UCCS went on to shoot 16-of-19 from the free throw line in the first period as a strong 50 percent field goal percentage was a result of
Logan Bracamonte (3-of-4),
Kyle Cabs (4-of-5), and
William Becker (3-of-4) registering 75 percent or better from the field as Cabs carried 12 first period points into the locker room.
• After handling Spurgeon College in defensive rebounds 20-12 in the first 20 minutes of the game, UCCS maintained their strong presence on the defensive end right out of halftime as Stodart garnered the rebound and found
Jon'il Fugett who drained the long range shot thirty seconds into the second period.
• UCCS kept chipping away at the Knights and showed their versatility in all facets on the offensive side of the ball as Stodart and Bracamonte hit a trio of three-pointers while
Beni Fungula got busy at the line by knocking down four easy free throws to contribute to the Mountain Lions' 26-point lead at 9:44, 75-49.
• Spurgeon College began to match UCCS' scoring down the stretch but the Knights couldn't find answers for Fungula and Bracamonte who each reached double-digit periods as Fungula capped off his scoring performance by netting a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line while Bracmonte nailed a perfect 3-of-3 from long range to seal up the 35-point win, 102-67.
STATS FROM THE DAY:
• Logan Bracamonte was on fire in Saturday's win with the transfer notching 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range while coming up just one rebound short of a double-double (nine).
• UCCS went to the charity stripe 35 different times in the contest with the Mountain Lions finishing 29-of-35 for 82.9 percent. Both
Mac Stodart (5-of-5),
Beni Fungula (7-of-7), and
Kyle Cabs (4-of-4) were flawless at the free throw line as they recorded 17, 11, and 14 points, respectively.
• The Mountain Lions brought in 46 rebounds with 39 coming on the defensive end as
William Becker was responsible for a team-high 10 rebounds.
• In the paint, UCCS scored 44 points and finished with a team field percentage of 48.5 percent (16-of-34).
• Six different Mountain Lions tallied up multiple assists in the win as
Jon'il Fugett finished with a team-high five assists.
BEYOND THE BOX:
• UCCS made 29 free throws for the second time this year (Feb. 18, 2022 against Colorado Christian).
• Jon'il Fugett has recorded three steals in three of the Mountain Lions' four games this season.
• Mac Stodart paces the Mountain Lions in scoring this season with 62 points as
Logan Bracamonte currently sits with a field goal percentage (61.5 percent) and three-point percentage (63.2 percent) north of 60 percent through four games.
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.
