COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's basketball showed their second-half resiliency once again on Friday night as the Mountain Lions clawed back to claim a hard-fought 92-86 conference win over Colorado Christian University.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: UCCS 92, CCU 86
Records: UCCS (9-3, 3-2 RMAC), CCU (6-5, 2-3 RMAC)
Location: Gallogly Events Center| Colorado Springs, Colo.
Series: The Mountain Lions trail in the all-time series against CCU, 23-35, with the Mountain Lions having won the last three matchups.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• It was a back-and-forth affair inside Gallogly Events Center Friday night as the Mountain Lions claimed the first lead of the game on a
Jezza McKenzie dime that resulted in
Beni Fungula slamming it in 12 seconds in.
• Both teams found themselves in foul trouble early with 14 total fouls in the first 10 minutes as UCCS and CCU knocked down their jumpers to shoot over 50 percent each from the field and from beyond the arc as the Cougars held the upper hand with a 21-15 lead.
• But the Mountain Lions began to climb back with
Mac Stodart getting momentum rolling by knocking down a three-pointer then following it up with a made layup and free throw for UCCS' next six points to make it 21-26 at 8:06. Off the missed free throw from Stodart,
David Jabedo reeled in the offensive rebound with
Logan Bracamonte draining the trey to the bring the game within two points.
• Jabedo kept his good play rolling in the first half by pushing the Mountain Lions on a 7-2 run by accounting for all seven points to tie the game up at 31-31 with 6:03 left to play. The shots continued to fall on both sides with CCU squeaking ahead into the intermission with a 48-41 as the Cougars finished the half shooting 60.7 percent from the field and 50 percent from the beyond the arc while UCCS notched a field goal percentage of 48.4 percent and three-point percentage of 40 percent.
• UCCS set the tone coming out of the half by forcing a turnover and coming out on the other end with Fungula finding
Jon'il Fugett who notched the three-pointer 30 seconds in to make it 48-44.
• CCU managed to maintain a short lead over the Mountain Lions past the halfway point in the second half, but UCCS kept at the Cougars with CCU eventually breaking starting at the 9:22 mark. The Mountain Lions posted a 10-2 run that started with a Fungula trey and ended with
William Becker bringing the house down with the go-ahead dunk at 5:56 to give UCCS their first lead since the 19:22 mark in the first half.
• The Cougars battled back to tie the game up at 75-75 and 77-77 down the stretch but McKenzie had other plans as the Australian native drained a huge three-pointer to give the Mountain Lions an 80-77 lead with 4:52 still left to play.
• The remainder of the game rested in the hands of Mountain Lions as UCCSwas able to get it done at the free throw line to claim the come from behind win, 92-86.
STATS FROM THE DAY:
• The Mountain Lions outscored CCU 51-38 in the second half and outshot the Cougars 59.3 percent (16-of-27) to 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from the field and 47.1 percent (8-of-17) to 14.3 percent (1-of-7) from beyond the arc.
• UCCS outrebounded CCU 35-31 in the win with the Mountain Lions owning a game-high 14 second chance points.
• Pacing the Mountain Lions in both points and rebounds Friday night was
Mac Stodart who brought in seven boards and shot 5-of-7 from the field and 5-of-8 from the charity stripe for 16 points.
• Four other Mountain Lions made their way into double digits with
Beni Fungula,
Jon'il Fugett, and
Logan Bracamonte each tallying up 14 points while
David Jabedo registered 11 points.
• UCCS came away with five blocks as McKenzie owned a game-high two blocks.
• The Mountain Lions dispersed the ball efficiently by counting up 22 assists as Fugett recorded a game-high six assists and McKenzie registering five.
• CCU held the lead for 31 minutes and 38 seconds before the Mountain Lions took over to claim the victory.
BEYOND THE BOX:
• UCCS shot a stellar 53.4 percent from the field for their second-best field goal percentage of the season.
• Jezza McKenzie set a season-high in blocks while also tying his career high with two tonight.
• Jon'il Fugett notched six or more assists for the fifth time this season with the Mountain Lions recording 20 or more assists for the fourth time in the season.
• David Jabedo tied his career-high in points (11) for the second time this season.
UP NEXT:
UCCS Men's Basketball is back inside Gallogly Events Center tomorrow evening as the Mountain Lions prepare to take on Chadron State College at 7 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.
