HONOLULU, Hawaii – University of Colorado Colorado Springs Men's Basketball drops their first game of the season in a 80-43 loss to No. 8 University of Central Oklahoma on Saturday night.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: UCCS 40, #8 UCO 83
Records: UCCS (5-1, 0-0 RMAC), UCO (4-0, 0-0 MIAA)
Location: Neal S. Blaisdell Center| Honolulu, Hawaii
Series: After the first-ever matchup between both programs, UCCS now trails Central Oklahoma 0-1 in the all-time series.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• UCCS stuck with the No. 8 team in the country for most of the first period with the Mountain Lions striking first on a
William Becker assist to
Jezza McKenzie for the game's first points at 19:06 to make it 2-0. From there, it was a battle between both squads as the Mountain Lions and Bronchos traded shots with UCO not taking their first lead of the game until under the 15-minute mark when a Broncho three-pointer led to a 9-7 UCO advantage.
• But the Mountain Lions would not back down as
Mac Stodart knocked down 1-of-2 free throws to register the game's fourth scoring tie of the first period at 14-14. Then after a made Broncho layup a possession later,
Logan Bracamonte let if fly from long range to splash UCCS' second three-pointer of the game from Stodart's dime for a 17-16 Mountain Lion lead at 9:33.
• UCO eventually worked it back to a tie game shortly after and cooled down the Mountain Lions by stringing together a 17-2 run with the Bronchos entering halftime with a 34-19 lead off 40 percent shooting from the field to UCCS' 25.8 field goal percentage.
• In the second half, Central Oklahoma continued to be efficient as the Mountain Lions struggled to answer after opening up the half shooting 2-of-12 from the field with the Bronchos jumping out to a 52-25 lead with 12:30 left to play.
• UCCS was able to work their way to the charity stripe a total of 14 times in the second half with Stodart knocking down a pair of free throws to collect his two points before Keegan Philips made one of UCCS' five second half field goals to make it 57-29 at the 11:10 media timeout
• As the game progressed, Mountain Lion turnovers turned into points on the other end for the Bronchos as 11 UCCS turnovers came across in the final 11 minutes with UCO pushing ahead to a 43-point lead.
David Jabedo was responsible for the Mountain Lions' final three points in the last three minutes of play after netting 3-of-3 at the line as the Bronchos closed out the game, 83-40.
STATS FROM THE DAY:
• Mac Stodart paced the Mountain Lions with 12 points as he shot 4-of-10 from the field, 1-of-10 from three-point range, and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. OCU had four double-digit scorers with Jaden Wells and Callen Haydon netting a game-high 15 points.
• OCU recorded 33 points off 26 UCCS turnovers with the Bronchos also racking up 44 points in the paint.
• The Mountain Lions shot 13-of-51 from the field (25.5 percent), 2-of-32 from beyond the arc (6.3 percent), and 12-of-17 from the charity stripe while OCU went 32-of-69 from the field (46.4percent), 6-of-14 from long range (42.9 percent), and 13-of-15 from the free throw line (86.7 percent).
• The Mountain Lions grabbed 36 rebounds in the contest with
William Becker collecting four offensive rebounds and seven defensive boards for 11 total rebounds.
BEYOND THE BOX:
• UCCS' 32 three-point attempts tie a season high as
Mac Stodart's 10 shots from beyond the arc sets a new career high.
• William Becker has posted double-digit rebounds for the third consecutive game.
• UCCS' 40 points is the least amount scored this season.
UP NEXT:
UCCS Men's Basketball is back on the hard wood tomorrow afternoon for the second game of the Hoops in Hawaii Classic with the Mountain Lions slated to tip-off against Hawaii Pacific University at 5:30 p.m. (MT) in Honolulu, Hawaii.
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.
