Colorado Christian took to the floor on Friday night as they battled Western State in a tough conference matchup. The Cougars were able to pull away late and secure the 99-89 victory. It was a close battle throughout the game, but it was a second half three point barrage, which lifted them to the victory.
Western State started the first half on a run as they were able to hit on five of their first six shots. Three minutes into the game the Mountaineers had a 12-6 lead over Colorado Christian. CCU answered over the next two and a half minutes as they went on a 15-0 run to take the 21-12 advantage. Both teams exchanged blows back and forth for the remainder of the first half, but the Cougars never relinquished the lead that they earned early in the half. With three minutes remaining in the half Western State had a breakaway chance that could have given them back the lead, but
Isaiah Hanson came from behind and delivered a monster rejection which sent the home crowd into a frenzy which continued as Hanson nailed a three pointer on the other end of the floor just seconds after the block. The game remained close as heading into halftime as CCU led 50-45.
Zach McLemore was the leading scorer for CCU at the half as he had 11 points on 4-10 shooting.
Ty McGee and
Jeremiah Hanson each had eight points.
Dominique Josephs led the team with four rebounds and also added four points. As a team the Cougars shot 53% (17-32) from the field and 40% (6-15) from beyond the three point line. Western State finished the first half shooting 47% (15-32) from the field and 36% (5-14) from downtown. The rebounding edge went to the Mountaineers as they grabbed 20 rebounds, compared to 15 from the Cougars. The CCU defense forced nine turnovers in the first half.
At the start of the second half the game remained close as both teams were battling to try and earn their fourth conference victory. Four minutes into the half, Western State was able to tie the game up 54-54 after draining a three pointer. The Cougar defense stepped up again and was able to prevent the Mountaineers from taking the lead. The next five minutes saw the CCU lead range between one and five points, but with around 11 minutes left the Cougars seized momentum and took control for good. It was the hot hand of
Zach McLemore that pushed the game out of reach for Western State. During a 90 second stretch, McLemore hit three triples and
Isaiah Hanson hit another three pointer which took the Cougar lead from one point and turned it into a double digit lead. They were able to maintain that momentum throughout the rest of the game and came away with the victory by a final score of 99-89.
Zach McLemore scored a game high 28 points for CCU as he was the igniter in the second half for the team as he scored 17 in the second half and propelled his team to the victory.
Ty McGee had a great all-around game as well as he finished with 22 points on 9-12 shooting from the floor. McGee finished one rebound shy of a double-double and was nearly charged with grand larceny as he finished with five steals as well.
Jeremiah Hanson was also a key contributor to the victory as he finished with 19 points and grabbed six rebounds. As a team, the Cougars shot 55% (33-60) from the floor for the game and sunk 48% (13-27) from downtown.
The win improves the Cougars record to 8-10 overall, and 4-8 in conference play. They will be back in action again on Saturday night as they will host CSU-Pueblo at the CCU Event Center in Lakewood, CO. Tip is scheduled for 7PM MST.
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