Colorado Christian went down to the wire with Black Hills State on Saturday night, but they pulled away late to secure the 66-61 victory over the Yellow Jackets. Andre Lane scored eight points in the final two minutes of play to lead the Cougars to a hard fought conference victory. 
 
Black Hills State got off to a quick start as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead just over a minute into the game. The Cougs then found their rhythm and got it going as they quickly battled back, and evened things up 10-10 with 15 minutes left in the first half. The two teams played even for the next seven minutes, as CCU held a 20-19 advantage with eight minutes to play in the first half. Then the Cougs ripped off a 12-4 run in the next five minutes to take a nine point lead 32-23. The Yellow Jackets were able to cut the lead down to five by the end of the first half, as Colorado Christian took a 35-30 lead heading into the break.
 
Stefan Hackethal was the leading scorer at halftime with 11 points. Hackethal made 4-6 field goals, and 2-4 from three. Ty McGee went a perfect 3-3 from the floor and finished the first half with nine points while also dishing out two assists. Andre Lane was a key contributor off of the bench as he led the team in rebounds with six, and also had two steals.
 
As the second half began, CCU kept their lead, and remained in control. With just under 14 minutes left in the game, a Black Hills made three pointer cut the Cougar lead down to just two at 46-44. The lead remained slim for Christian until the nine minute mark, when another made three pointer gave BHSU the lead for the first time since early in the first half. 
 
With Four minutes left, the Cougs were looking at their largest deficit of the game as they trailed 61-54. After a made layup by Dimitri Saliba, the Black Hills lead was down to five. On the ensuing Black Hills possession, the Cougs collected a rebound after a missed shot, then Andre Lane connected on a shot from downtown to trim the deficit to just two. The CCU defense forced a turnover, and Ty McGee threw down a dunk on the offensive end which tied the game up 61-61. After another Yellow Jacket miss and a Cougars rebound, Andre Lane gave Colorado Christian the lead back, as he tickled the twine with another three to put them ahead 64-61 with just 45 seconds left to play. Black Hills had a chance to tie as they attempted a three pointer to tie things up with just a few seconds left, but the shot was off of the mark. Fittingly, Andre Lane grabbed the rebound and was fouled and sent to the line. Lane hit both free throws to seal the victory for the Cougs by a final score of 66-61.
 
It was a thrilling victory for Colorado Christian, as they finished the game on a 12-0 run after relinquishing the lead late in the second half. Andre Lane scored eight of the final 12 points, as he led the team in the final few minutes of play.
 
Head coach Kevin Lubbers spoke about the victory saying, "It is always good to get a win on the road. We need to get rested, through exams, and get ready for UCCS next Friday."
 
Dimitri Saliba led the team in scoring with 16 points, and also had three steals in the game. Ty McGee finished with 12 points, and Stefan Hackethal had 11. Andre Lane was one rebound shy of a double-double as he had 11 points and nine rebounds. As a team, the Cougars hit 46% (24-52) of their shots, and 30% (7-23) from beyond the arc. They also made the most of their attempts at the free throw line as they hit 11-12 (92%).
 
The win boosts their record to 6-4 overall, and 3-1 in conference play. The next game for CCU takes place on Friday Dec. 16^th when they will travel to Colorado Springs to take on UCCS. The game will begin at 7:30PM MST.