Completing a crucial weekend in RMAC play, Colorado Christian knocked off Colorado Mesa 81-77 on Saturday to get one of their biggest wins of the season.
 
Even after getting a win the night before, Christian knew they would have to improve to beat the Mavericks. The Cougars responded with one of their better performances, a wire to wire victory over a talented Mesa squad.
 
Christian once again utilized a balanced effort on offense, with multiple players stepping up when their opportunities arose.
 
Setting the tone for the blue and gold was junior Wayne McCullough, who scored 15 of his 17 points in the opening half, and continued his aggressive play of late.
 
"I hit that first shot and it felt good," said McCullough.  "I've been playing with confidence lately in the past four or five games and I just kept it going."
 
While the first half belonged to McCullough, the second half belonged to Tyler Shields. The senior from Kearney, Nebraska tallied 15 of his 18 points in the final period and connected on critical three-point baskets to keep the home team's lead intact.
 
Against the RMAC's fifth-ranked team, the Cougars executed all night long. The hosts shot 50% from the field, hit 11 shots from beyond the arc, and only committed ten turnovers, a combination that kept the Mavericks from ever tying or taking the lead after the opening tip.
 
Despite a big night from the conference's second leading scorer Ryan Stephan, Christian contained the rest of the Mesa team, limiting any impact from surrounding players while only allowing one other double figure scorer.
 
"We had a goal today to hold everyone but Ryan Stephan to single digits. We knew he would score, and wanted to hold everyone else," commented Head Coach Kevin Lubbers. "For the most part we did that. Our guys did a great job buying into that concept. We rebounded well enough, we defended well enough – not great but good enough – and our offense was excellent. We got a lot of big plays from different guys and got the win."
 
After losing three straight coming into the weekend, and facing a pair of opponents that had beaten CCU previously, these latest two wins take on slightly greater importance.
 
"These guys work their tails off. Every team in our league works their tails off – I don't want to separate us at all, but people on the outside don't understand how much time and commitment it takes for these kids," added Lubbers. "They could've easily laid down. We've had a really tough stretch the last few weeks, but they're fighters and workers and they're really committed to playing as well as they can."
 
Now at 8-7 in the RMAC, the Cougars have a pair of local road games next week, as they'll head to Denver to take on Regis and Metro State. Three weeks ago CCU split the home matchup between the two teams. The Cougars face the Rangers Friday, February 6 followed by a Saturday showdown with the Roadrunners.