COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's basketball team shot 88.9 percent from the free throw line to lock up a 68-64 victory over Western Colorado University.
INSIDE THE MATCH UP
- Final: UCCS 68, WCU 64
- Records: UCCS (12-7, 6-5 RMAC) | WCU (6-12, 4-7 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: Gallogly Events Center | Colorado Springs, Colo.
- All-Time Series: UCCS moves to 31-19 in the all-time series against the Mountaineers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Mountain Lions opened the game by taking a quick 5-4 lead in the first two minutes thanks to an early layup and three pointer by graduate forward William Becker. Both teams would go scoreless for what was nearly the next four minutes before a string of scoring by three different UCCS players increased their lead to seven with 12:31 to go in the first half.
- The Mountaineers came firing back and took a 14-13 lead via a 10-2 run featuring two threes by Kade Juelfs. After the run by WCU, both teams began to settle into a close battle to end the half, as UCCS found themselves trailing by two with 35 seconds left. The final scoring play of the first half was made by Xavier Martinez, who was fouled on a layup that tied the game at 26. Martinez converted the three-point play to give the Mountain Lions a one-point lead at halftime.
- The second half began with a three from Amar Rivers of WCU that was quickly answered by UCCS guard Hannes Saar with one of his own. The Mountain Lions found themselves up by seven with 15:35 on the clock thanks to two points each from Saar and Becker, as well as a three from sophomore guard James Ellis. The Mountaineers answered back with yet another sizable scoring run over the next five minutes to take a 44-39 lead with 10:32 left to play.
- The Mountain Lions would not take another lead until there was 1:14 left to go in the game when Saar grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup with a foul. After Saar made the free throw to go up 60-59, both teams made a driving lay up that left 30 seconds on the game clock. WCU's Juelfs would draw a foul with 17 seconds to go but missed both free throws with the second rebounded by Derik Pranger to give the Mountain Lions possession leading by a point. With 12 seconds left, the Mountaineers had to result to fouling UCCS, but they answered the call as Martinez drained four free throws in the process, and Becker adding two of his own to close out the game with a 68-64 victory.
GAME STATISTICS
- Becker, Martinez, and Saar were the three Mountain Lions to finish in double figures on Thursday with Martinex leading the team with 20 points.
- The Mountain Lions finished with 40 rebounds to the Mountaineers' 43 with Becker's 10 being the team leader.
- The Mountain Lions shot 39.3 percent from the field (24-of-61), 33.3 percent from the three-point line (4-of-12) and 88.9 percent from the free throw line (16-of-18).
- UCCS had 11 points off turnovers, 38 in the paint, 13 from second chances, eight off fast breaks, and 13 from the bench.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Becker recorded his 10th double-double of the season on Thursday night.
- Head Coach Jeff Culver is now two wins away from 200 wins in his UCCS career.
UP NEXT
- UCCS will play their next game at home on Saturday, Feb. 1 as they take on Colorado Mesa University with tip-off scheduled for 3:00 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.
