Colorado Christian Men's Basketball won their NCCAA National Tournament first-round game Thursday, advancing with a 68-61 win over Cincinnati Christian. The Cougars got the win – their 17^th of the year – after pitching a stout defensive showing against the Eagles.
 
"We played some of our best defense of the year this morning against a very well-coached team," explained Colorado Christian Head Coach Kevin Lubbers. "I thought they had more energy than us most of the morning, but we made enough plays when we needed to and got the win. Our defense won us this game in spite of some sluggish offense."
 
The Cougars limited their opponents to a lowly 35% clip from the field, recovering from a one-point half-time deficit by generating timely late-game stops to cripple Cincinnati Christian's momentum down the stretch. The Eagles committed 14 turnovers in the tournament's opener, and found their way to the line seven fewer times than did CCU.
 
Of course, Colorado Christian's offense didn't produce big numbers either. Though NCCAA Pete Maravich Award winner Michael Brown collected 23 points after draining six shots from deep, the Cougars managed little else in terms of efficiency in the win.  A 21-for-53 effort limited CCU to fewer than 70 points for the 11^th time this season.
 
Brown's showing marked a highlight for the Cougars, who needed every bucket in the heated four-five match-up. The senior from Heber City, UT went 75% from behind the arc, hitting two straight in the game's first minute. Aiding the Christian effort was junior Joey Trinkle, who went 5-for-6 from the foul line to finish the game with 13 points. Trinkle and Brown combined for 13 boards, helping CCU to a 31-rebound performance.
 
Despite their sluggishness on the offensive side of the ball, however, CCU led Cincinnati Christian for more than 35 minutes.
 
Now 17-15 on the year, Colorado Christian will play the tournament's #1 seed Lee University Thursday at 1:30 pm MST. Lee defeated #8 Crowley's Ridge 63-61 on Wednesday morning.