Colorado Christian Men's Basketball traveled to Las Vegas, NM on New Year's Day to play New Mexico Highlands University. They walked away with their first conference win of the season and the New Year. They beat the Cowboys 83-81 which puts Christian at 5-7 overall and 1-5 in conference.
 
CCU stepped up their game against NMHU on New Year's Day. The players had two weeks off of games and were able to enjoy a week-long break with their families, and then it was back to the court on the following Monday. It was obvious that the Cougars benefited from these last two weeks and came out ready to play.
 
It was a back and forth battle the entire first half. CCU was able to go into the locker room with the lead at 42-40 shooting 55% from the field and 42% from the three. The Cowboys shot 38% from the field and 29% three-point.
 
The second half is when Christian started to really show-off, and Highlands started to get into some foul trouble which helped the point stretch for CCU. There were a few times where NMHU got within 2-3 points, but then some big shots from players like McLemore, Lane, and McCullough helped secure the win.
 
Center, Dominique Josephs had an outstanding game going 8-8 from the field, earning 17 points with six rebounds. Zach McLemore led the team in points with 23, shooting 5-12 FG, 3-9 3FG, and 10-12 FT. On defense, Ty McGee had 12 rebounds and created opportunities with four assists. Senior Wayne McCullough was right behind McLemore with 18 points.
 
Colorado Christian shot 56% from the field, 42% in threes, and 84% from the line, while the Cowboy's trailed 41% FG, 33% 3FG, and 83% FT. The Cougars had 34 points in the paint, 12 points off turnovers, and the bench scored 25.

Coach Kevin Lubbers on the game "Great team win tonight. I thought the guys did a great job of playing 40 minutes tonight which is a good sign of growth for our team."
 
Men's Basketball will be in Silver City, NM on January 2^nd playing against Western New Mexico University. Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm.