Through almost 30 minutes of play Thursday at the Event Center in Lakewood, Colorado Christian Basketball held a lead over the 17^th-ranked Orediggers of Colorado Mines. Playing energized in front of a packed home crowd, the Cougars throttled through the first half, jumping out to a 15-point advantage before retiring a 54-40 lead at the half. Unfortunately, the CCU momentum would stutter in the second period, leaving Mines the opportunity to pounce. The visiting Orediggers would go on to win 95-89.
 
Though Michael Brown went a career-best 7-for-7 on the way to a 29-point performance, the senior from Heber City, UT could not spark a Cougar squad immersed in a scoring slump midway through the second half. CCU led by 15 with 10:46 left to play, but had no response when Mines launched a run that would put them up by one with 5:19 remaining on the clock. The result was a frazzled Christian team – outscored 31-8 from 10:46 to 2:26 – left scrambling to claw their way back into the game.
 
Unfortunately, CSM had an answer every time. Though Brown drained a trey with 29 ticks left, Mines finished the game with a 5-for-6 showing from the foul line to seal the win.
 
"As a coach, you take 100% of the ownership for that loss," remarked a disappointed CCU Coach Kevin Lubbers at the end of the night. "We were terrible defensively the entire night, and could not find an answer that consistently got us stops in either half – certainly not the second half. No excuses, we have to be better than that."
 
Indeed, the night's result was hard to swallow for a Cougar squad that shot 57% from the field and 63% from deep. Bettering CCU's effort with a head-turning offensive show, Mines shot an impressive 75% from three and 66% from the field. Guard Brian Muller helped the Oredigger effort, going 7-for-8 from downtown on the way to a 35-point night.
 
Off the bench, Christian freshman Zach McLemore tallied 16 points and three assists. McLemore is now third among CCU scorers with an average of 8.6 points per game.
 
Now 4-1 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, Colorado Christian will break for Christmas before returning to play January 2 at Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction.