THE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE OFCOLORADO CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY

Colorado Christian got off to a perfect start, as they defeated St. Edward's University on Friday night in overtime by a final score of 93-91. CCU battled back in the second half, as they trailed by 10 with just a few minutes remaining. Their grit and determination forced the game into overtime, where they were able to secure the narrow victory.
 
The Hilltoppers jumped out to an early lead as they opened the game on fire scoring the first 14 points and taking the commanding lead just two and a half minutes into the game. The Cougars answered with a run of their own as they scored nine straight points to cut the deficit down to just five. Both teams battled in the half, as they continued to exchange baskets, and neither team was able to gain a definitive edge. Heading into halftime, St. Edward's maintained their slim lead 46-40 over Colorado Christian.
 
The Cougars were led in the first half by the strong offensive output from Jacob Taylor and Dimitri Saliba. Taylor finished the half with 10 points on 5-6 shooting from the floor. Saliba was the team's leading scorer at the break with 11 points.
 
CCU came out of the break on a roll, and with just over 18 minutes left in the half had taken their first lead of the game 47-46. However the lead did not last as the Hilltoppers regained control of the game as they outscored CCU 16-2 over a six minute span. With 5:30 left in the game, the Cougs still trailed by 10 points, but began to chip away at the SEU lead. Ty McGee hit a leaner with two minutes left which tied the game up 76-76. Two Hilltoppers free throws gave them a two point lead with 33 seconds left to play, but McGee answered with a layup of his own to even up the score again. Neither team was able to break the tie in the final 20 seconds of regulation, so the game headed into overtime tied 78-78.
 
In overtime, Ty McGee remained on fire as he opened up the scoring by draining a three and shifted the momentum into the Cougars favor. After a defensive stand, Andre Lane added a three pointer of his own to push the CCU lead up to six points 84-78 with four minutes remaining. SEU refused to give in, as they battled back and were able to cut the Cougar lead down to one 87-86 with two minutes left in the game. CCU pushed their lead back up to three, but with 13 seconds left, a Hilltoppers layup cut it back down to one. After getting fouled, Brett Brady hit one of two from the free throw line which gave SEU a chance to tie or win the game in the final ten seconds. The Colorado Christian defense thwarted the desperation attempt from the Hilltoppers at the buzzer, and held on for the 93-91 victory.
 
Ty McGee led all scorers on the night as he finished the game with 26 points. 20 of his 26 came in the second half/overtime. McGee also led the team in assists with nine, and chipped in seven rebounds. Jacob Taylor finished with 17 points on 8-10 shooting, and also had seven rebounds in the game. Dimitri Saliba had 17 points and dished out six assists, and Brett Brady finished with 14 points on the night.
 
Head coach Kevin Lubbers spoke after the game saying, "This one was definitely a group effort with contributions coming from everyone. There is a lot of room for improvement. Tomorrow will be another tough game against Dallas Baptist University."
 
The Cougars open up the year 1-0 for the first time since the 2007-2008 season. They will continue play in Dallas, TX tomorrow as they take on Dallas Baptist University. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30PM MST.