The CCU Men's Basketball team were back in action on Friday, November 24^th, when they took on the Thrashers of Bethel College in Golden, CO. Bethel, an NAIA opponent, came into the game with a 2-6 record on the year, but the Cougars were hungry, and notched their first win of the season by winning 91-72.
 
The Cougars set the tone early, quickly building an eight-point lead before the first media timeout was called. The Cougars would capitalize on nine Bethel turnovers which would lead to 10 Cougar points in the first half. Ultimately CCU would go into halftime with a lead for the first time this season, with the Thrashers trailing by a dozen.
 
The second half saw a determined Bethel squad who was not ready to go down without a fight. The Thrashers would open the second half on a 12-3 run, shrinking their deficit to just three points, but that is as close as the Thrashers would get. Coming out of the timeout, the Cougars would respond with their own runs of 8-0 and 14-4 to ultimate lead by 23 points before ending the contest with a 19-point victory.
 
CCU had an all-around great game, combining superb shooting with stifling defense, a combo the Thrashers could not overcome. The Cougars shot 50% from the field, grabbed 30 defensive rebounds, dished 23 assists, and totaled 11 steals to go with five blocked shots, all of which were season highs for the team. The Cougars never trailed at any point in the 40 minutes of play. 
 
The Cougars were again led by redshirt junior Stefan Hackethal who dropped a career high 37 points against the Thrashers. As prolific a scorer as he is, Hackethal contributed in every facet of the game today by grabbing five boards, nabbing five steals, dolling out four assists, and topping it off with a block in 31 minutes of action.
 
Hackethal had help today though as three other Cougars scored in double-digits including redshirt-senior Isaiah Hanson, junior Jeremiah Hanson, and redshirt-freshman Christian Hyatt. Jeremiah added 18 points, Hyatt contributed 12 points along with five assists, and Isaiah Hanson contributed 13 points.
 
The Cougars will try to double their win total tomorrow when they take on the Bulldogs from Concordia University, Nebraska in Golden, CO at 1:00 p.m.