GUNNISON, Colo. – University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's basketball took care of both business and the ball Friday night by committing a season low six turnovers as they mauled Western Colorado University 78-62 on the road to extend their winning streak to six games.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP: 
Final: UCCS 69, WCU 61
Records: UCCS (15-6, 10-5 RMAC), WCU (5-16, 4-11 RMAC)
Location: Paul Wright Gymnasium | Gunnison, Colo.
Series: Under Head Coach Jeff Culver, UCCS extends their record to 11-1 against Western Colorado and have now won five straight against the Mountaineers.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• From the tip-off, the Mountaineers seemed to get off to a hot start by scoring the first two baskets of the game as the Mountain Lions missed their first three shot attempts with WCU taking a 4-0 lead through the opening two minutes.
• Jezza McKenzie and William Becker helped recover UCCS by each making a layup in the 17^th minute that quickly brought the game back to even, but the Mountaineers answered by going on their longest scoring run of the game by tallying the next seven points to take on an 11-4 lead at 15:27. The seven-point WCU lead quickly turned into nine points for the Mountaineers' largest lead of the game after WCU's Will Willis hit a jumper in the paint to make it 20-11 with 12:51 left.
• Down nine, the Mountain Lions quickly flipped the switch and chipped at the WCU lead by going on a 7-3 run with Alijah Comithier, Parker Gaddis, and Cameron Underwood each driving the hoop and finding the bottom of the net. With the deficit being cut down to just three points, 23-20, UCCS went on a tear to take a firm hold of the lead by fueling a 12-0 run to swing the game 30-23 in their favor. The Mountain Lions went 5-of-9 from the field in that span and bagged two steals with Jon'il Fugett claiming both steals and turning them into four points as Comithier also netted four points to help take a commanding 30-23 lead at 7:52.
• The Mountaineers tried to get back into the game by bringing it within one-point with as little as 2:03 left at a score of 37-36, but the Mountain Lions took off once again by capping a first half field-goal percentage of 46.9 percent with a Mac Stodart three-pointer and Wyatt Dolberry drawing an and-one play off a driving layup down the stretch to claim an eight-point, 45-37, lead into halftime.
• Right out of the gate in the second half, WCU's Avery Ramero took to the basket by being responsible for six of the Mountaineers' opening eight points in the second half as they brought the game back within one score at 46-44.
• With WCU beginning to slowly find a rhythm, McKenzie came out on the opposite end to receive a pass from Fugett and drain a momentum killing three-pointer to push UCCS up to a five-point lead. McKenzie wasn't finished as he answered the following Mountaineer basket with a made layup at 16:45 to make it a 51-45 UCCS advantage and spark a 10-0 UCCS run that ended with a Dolberry layup and 59-45 lead.
• UCCS continued to maintain the double-digit lead over WCU with the deficit getting up to as much as 20-points after a Devin Smith layup at the 2:25 mark. WCU managed to climb down from the 20-point mark by scoring the final four points as the Mountain Lions came to outscore the Mountaineers 33-25 in the half for a 78-62 final.

STATS FROM THE DAY:
• The Mountain Lions were consistent from the field with a first half shooting percentage of 46.9 percent and second half percentage of 44.8 as they outshot WCU 45.9-35.6 percent.
• On the defensive end, the Mountain Lions forced nine turnovers as they collected five steals and seven blocks with six different Mountain Lions registering a block.
• UCCS out-scored WCU both in the paint and off the bench with the Mountain Lions scoring 38 in the paint and 35 off the bench, compared to the Mountaineers 28 points in the paint and 19 off the bench.
• Parker Gaddis was the leading scorer off the bench with 11 points as he recorded one block, a team high three assists, and five rebounds.
 • Alijah Comithier scored a game high 15 points off 5-of-10 from the field and 5-of-8 from the charity stripe as he bagged two steals and seven rebounds.
• Jon'il Fugett and Jezza McKenzie were also responsible for double-digit points with 12 and 10, respectively, as Fugett added two steals and a block.

BEYOND THE BOX:
• UCCS took care of the ball Friday night by committing a season low six assists. It's also the first time this season that UCCS has committed single digit turnovers.
• The Mountain Lions extend their winning streak to six games, the program's longest winning streak since the 2018-19 season where they won 10 in a row.

UP NEXT:
• UCCS Men's Basketball will head to Durango, Colo. to battle Fort Lewis College tomorrow night with tip-off slated for 7 p.m.
 
SOCIAL:
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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.