GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs Mountain Lions men's basketball team fumbled a 13-point halftime lead to be downed on the road by No. 15 Colorado Mesa University.
INSIDE THE MATCH UP
- Final Score: UCCS 62, CMU 70
- Records: UCCS (4-5, 0-3 RMAC) | CMU (6-1, 3-0 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: Brownson Arena| Grand Junction, Colo.
- All-Time Series: The Mavericks have dominated the all-time series vs the Mountain Lions with CMU winning 44 games, and UCCS winning just 10 games.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- It was all UCCS early, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the opening minute of play, all by way of free throws. Colorado Mesa would respond with a Trevor Baskin layup and one of two made free throws from Mac Riniker to gut to lead to one. After surrendering a fast break dunk to Riniker, a give and go in the paint resulted in a Jesse Iweze dunk, and again it was Iweze who was left open beyond the arc after a defensive stop that he nailed for the 11-7 advantage into the first timeout.
- The Mountain Lions would then embark on a 12-7 run over the next five minutes, with a kick out three from James Ellis counting as the exclamation, and with 10 minutes to play in the opening frame, UCCS was in the driver seat.
- Over the final 10 minutes UCCS would out score the Mavericks 20-16 behind disciplined play and patience on defense while the Mavericks forced ill advised shots while they chased the deficit.
- As the second half commenced, halftime adjustments were clear from the side of Colorado Mesa, and the #15 team in DII flushed their first half struggles from memory. A three ball from CMU's Owen Koonce opened the scoring out of the break and set the tone as play got back underway. Colorado Mesa drained seven unanswered points to begin the second half, before Mac Stodart finally found paydirt for UCCS, as the Mavericks cut the lead to eight.
- As the game clock ticked under 13 minutes to play, the Mavericks had taken all the momentum and the lead, outscoring UCCS 17-6 to claim the one-point lead at 47-46. UCCS would pull back even at 49 then pull ahead by a point with two made free throws from Jezza McKenzie, but Reece Johnson would respond with a Maverick three-pointer and CMU would hold the lead for good.
- Trailing by 12 points with 5:48 to go, UCCS wouldn't go down quiet, cutting the lead to just six as the clock dipped under a minute. Unfortunately for UCCS the last gasp wouldn't be enough to overcome the Mavericks strong second half, as the Mountain Lions fall 70-62 on the western slope.
GAME STATISTICS
- CMU outscored UCCS 40-19 in the second half to overcome their 13-point halftime deficit.
- Owen Koonce led all scorers with 15 points for the Mavericks, UCCS' Xavier Martinez continued his hot collegiate start, leading the Mountain Lions with 13 points.
- Three Mountain Lions scored in the double digits with Martinez (13), Jesse Iweze (12) and Mac Stodart (11) all flushing double digit point totals.
- Six different Mountain Lions had threes in the game, but the team went 0-12 in the second half from three point land.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Colorado Mesa now owns eight straight victories against the Mountain Lions.
- UCCS' last win against a ranked opponent came on March 14th, 2015 when they defeated #13 Colorado School of Mines in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. They have gone 0-20 against ranked opponents since.
- This is the first time UCCS has started a season 0-3 in RMAC play since the 2012-13 season, Jeff Culver's first in Colorado Springs. That season UCCS lost their opening five RMAC contests.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will continue their season long road trip tomorrow when they take on Westminster University in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.
SOCIAL
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
