Colorado Christian was on the road Saturday night as they squared off against New Mexico Highlands University. The Cowboys had the last laugh, as they pulled away late and defeated the Cougs by a final score of 95-84. Christian could not stop the Highlands offense, as they shot 63% (37-59) from the floor in the game.
 
It was a fast paced, evenly matched first half with CCU and NM Highlands scoring the ball at will. After three minutes of action, the game was tied 10-10, but then Highlands pulled in front over the next seven minutes. At the halfway point in the first half, the Cowboys had taken an 18-28 lead over the Cougs. Then CCU began to heat up offensively, and chip away at the deficit. Brett Brady shot his team back into the game and at the six minute mark, the Cougs had erased their deficit and taken the lead 33-32. The remainder of the first half was a back and forth battle as the lead exchanged hands eight times in the final five minutes of the half. Christian finished with the lead when Stefan Hackethal drained a three pointer with 23 seconds left to give CCU the slim 48-45 advantage heading into the break.
 
Brett Brady finished the first half with 20 points on 6-8 shooting. All eight of his attempts were from beyond the arc. Dimitri Saliba was the next leading scorer as he finished with nine points while also tallying three assists. Ty McGee finished with seven, while Jacob Taylor and Stefan Hackethal each finished with five points.
 
As a team, the Cougs finished the first half with a stellar 61% (17-28) shooting percentage. They also managed to hit 58% (7-12) from downtown. New Mexico Highlands kept CCU from running away with it by shooting 68% (19-28) from the floor, and 50% (5-10) from beyond the arc.
 
The second half went just like the end of the first half, with both sides fighting to gain control of the game. CCU held onto the slim lead well into the second half, and led 58-51 with 14 minutes remaining in the game. Then Highlands fought their way back thanks in part to their hot hand on the offensive end. The Cowboys tied the game up 61-61 with 12 minutes left. At the 7:22 mark, Ty Neff gave the Cougars a one point lead 73-72 after knocking down his shot from long range. Unfortunately, that was the last time the Cougs had the lead as Highlands heated up and CCU cooled off. NMHU finished the game on a 23-11 run which gave them the 84-95 victory over Colorado Christian.
 
Brett Brady led all CCU scorers with 24 points on 7-14 shooting. Dimitri Saliba finished with 15 points and led the team in assists with five. Ty McGee also had 15 points, and grabbed nine rebounds. Stefan Hackethal finished with 11 points.
 
The loss drops the Cougars record down to 11-8 overall, and 8-5 in conference play. They have a quick turnaround for their next game as they take on Colorado School of Mines on Tuesday Jan. 24^th. That game will be held at the CCU Event Center in Lakewood, and will begin at 7PM MST.