It was an electric atmosphere as hundreds of fans came out to watch the Cougars in action for their final home game of the year. It was a close game, but Highlands came away on top by a final score of 100-92. A pre-game ceremony honored the lone CCU senior Wayne McCullough before he took the floor for his final home game of his illustrious career.
 
Highlands came out of the gates hot as they were able to hit 6-10 to take an early lead in the game, but CCU was able to remain close thanks to their long distance shooting. Halfway into the first half, the game was tied 23-23 as both teams relaxed into the flow of the game. Highlands utilized their size advantage early on as they imposed their will and were able to get a couple of easy dunks and layups. However, every time the Cowboys built a lead up, Christian had an answer and was able to fight back into it. Both offenses liked to run a fast paced offense, and that was evident through the first 20 minutes of the game as displayed in the score at the half which was 46-43 in favor of Highlands.
 
Dimitri Saliba led the Cougars in scoring for the first half as he tallied 10 points from the field on 4-5 shooting. Zach McLemore finished with eight points in his 17 minutes of work. Ty McGee, Wayne McCullough and Andre Lane all had six points in the first half. CCU finished the half shooting an impressive 50% (17-34) from the field including 39% (7-18) from beyond the arc in the first half.
 
Highlands opened up the second half on a 14-4 run to push their lead into double digits at 60-47. After both teams exchanged baskets a few times, CCU came up with a loud answer in the form of a run of their own. Trailing 67-53 with 12:13 remaining in the game, the Cougars rattled off a 15-2 run which brought them to within one at 68-69 with 8:53 left. The three minute stretch breathed life back into the crowd and got them back on their feet for the remainder of the game. The game remained neck and neck throughout the remaining eight minutes, but with a little under a minute left a Highlands player got loose along the perimeter and hit from three to make it a seven point lead at 93-86. The Cowboys were able to hit on their free throws late to ice the game and hand the Cougars the 100-92 loss.
 
It was a tough loss for CCU, in a game which both teams played strong enough to earn the victory. The Cougars finished the game shooting 51% (30-59), and 42% (13-31) from downtown. It was a great team effort as Colorado Christian had five players finish the game in double figures led by Ty McGee who finished with a double-double by scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Zach McLemore had 18, Dimitri Saliba had 15, and Andre Lane had 14 points. The lone senior, and team leader, Wayne McCullough was the final Cougar to score in double figures on the night. He finished the game scoring 12 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out four assists. McCullough will go down as one of the most decorated players in Colorado Christian basketball history, and will be greatly missed by the program.
 
With the loss, the CCU record drops to 14-11 overall, and 10-9 in conference play. They will be on the road for their next game as they travel down to Pueblo, CO to take on CSU-Pueblo on Friday February 19^th. Tip is scheduled for 7:30PM MST.

DNL