Friday night's men's basketball contest at the Event Center featured a challenging match-up between Colorado Christian and the nation's tenth-ranked Roadrunners of Metro State. Stepping up to the challenge, CCU led the game for 23 minutes, pushing the MSUD squad down to the final moments before finally falling in the closing minutes. Metro hung on to beat the Cougars 61-59, dropping Christian to 7-7 on the year and 4-4 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play.
 
Thanks to timely treys and a pesky defense, CCU built a first-half lead that grew to as many as seven points with 2:24 left till the half. Though the Roadrunners battled back to take a 25-25 tie into the break, the home Cougars had by then proven they could hang with the perennially tough MSUD squad.
 
Christian's fortunes from the field heated up to start the second, as the blue and gold drained six buckets from deep in the first 11 and a half minutes of the period. Unfortunately, Metro responded, launching a 13-2 run that would give them a four point lead with four minutes on the clock. Unfriendly whistles doomed the Cougars' chances at an upset though, as call after call went the Roadrunners' way in the waning moments. Metro went 6-for-8 from the charity stripe to close out the contest.
 
Though a three from guard Wayne McCullough tied the game at 59 with 34 ticks left to play, Metro again found their way to the free throw line. A pair of Metro makes from the foul line gave the visitors their final lead, as CCU struggled to sink a shot in the final six seconds of play.
 
"We did a lot of really good things tonight to put ourselves in a position to win," explained CCU Head Coach Kevin Lubbers after the game. "Unfortunately we fouled a little too much and gave up too many offensive rebounds to close it out. Tomorrow's is a big game and our guys will be ready and hungry again."  
 
Andrew Squiers finished the night with a team-best 13 points and four assists, while McCullough added 11 in the loss. Tyler Shields led the Cougars on the glass, bringing down seven in Christian's 31-rebound effort.
 
Colorado Christian will return to the Event Center Saturday to square off against cross-town rival Regis University. Tip-off is slated for 7pm.