Powered by a stellar offensive performance from Brett Brady, CCU cruises to victory against Chadron State on Saturday night 86-69. Brady poured in 31, and the defense stifled the Eagles attack to earn their second straight win and open up conference play 2-0.
 
The Cougars offense was sizzling right from the tip, and less than 10 minutes into the game they already had a double digit lead 23-12. Chadron got themselves back into the game, as they focused their attack on the perimeter. In the first half the Eagles hit 50% (6-12) from three, which kept them in the game. The Cougars saw their lead diminish down to just one point with under five minutes to play in the first half, but they never relinquished the lead. Heading into the break, the Cougs were ahead 43-40.
 
Brett Brady was the team's leading scorer at the half, as he was perfect from the floor hitting all five of his shots, 3-3 from downtown, for a total of 13 points. Ty McGee also was in double figures at the break as he had 10 points. As a team, they shot an impressive 60% (16-27) from the floor, and 50% (5-10) from three.
 
Colorado Christian owned the second half, but Chadron kept it close for the first five minutes and even tied the game up with just over 14 minutes left. CCU then went on a 19-2 run which slammed the door shut on any attempt for the Eagles to remain in the game. The Cougar defense held CSC to shooting just 32% (8-25) in the second half.
 
Brett Brady led all scorers on the night with 31 points. Brady was nearly perfect on the night as he made 10-12 shots overall, including 6-7 from beyond the arc. Dimitri Saliba was stellar on the night as well as he finished with 22 points on 9-12 shooting. Saliba also led the team in rebounds with eight, and assists with seven. Ty McGee finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, and Andre Lane had 10. As a team, they finished with a shooting percentage of 55% (30-55), and connected on 9-21 (43%) from deep.
 
Head coach Kevin Lubbers was pleased as he spoke after the game saying, "Our guys did a good job tonight executing and competing. We started off the first few minutes sloppy, but were able to find a good rhythm defensively, especially in the second half."
 
With the win, the Cougars record now sits at 5-3 overall, and 2-0 in conference play. They will be back in action on Tuesday Dec. 5^th as they travel to Laramie, WY to play an exhibition game against the University of Wyoming. Tip is scheduled for 7PM MST. The team will get back to conference action next weekend as they travel to South Dakota for a pair of games Friday and Saturday against South Dakota School of Mines (Friday @ 7:30PM MST) and Black Hills State (Saturday @ 7PM MST).