Men's basketball was in action on Friday afternoon as they took on Southwestern Christian University in the second round of the NCCAA Regional tournament. The Cougars had the lead at halftime, but were unable to hold onto it in the second half, as Southwestern Christian came back to win by a final score of 78-72.
 
The Cougs got off to a slow start in the game, as SCU jumped out to an early lead. With just over 11 minutes left in the first half, The Eagles had their lead built up to 11 points, as they were in front 20-9. The rest of the first half belonged to CCU and they were able to quickly erase their deficit. At the four minute mark in the first half, Christian had regained the lead 32-31. The rest of the half was played tight on both ends, but the Cougs went into the break leading 39-36.
 
Both teams continued to battle in the second half, but CCU was able to keep their slim lead over the Eagles. Andre Lane hit a three with nearly nine minutes remaining in the game which gave the Cougs a six point advantage 62-56. Southwestern Christian refused to give in, and with five minutes left in the game they hit a shot from beyond the arc which tied the game up 64-64. SCU gained the advantage by hitting on a few shots from inside the paint, and CCU was unable to fight their way back into as they lost by a final score 78-72.
 
Brett Brady led all scorers in the game as he finished with 24 points on 9-16 shooting from the floor including hitting on 6-11 from downtown. Dimitri Saliba finished with 13 points, and also led the team with three steals. Ty McGee was the only other Cougar in double figures as he had 10 points in the game. McGee finished one rebound shy of a double-double, as he led the team with nine rebounds.
 
Head coach Kevin Lubbers remarked, "We had too many turnovers tonight, and that cost us the game. Not much more to it than that." CCU had 14 turnovers in the game which led to 18 points for the Eagles. Another factor in the game was the production both teams had off of the bench. The Eagles had 21 points from their bench, while CCU only had 11.
 
Despite the loss, Colorado Christian has earned an at large bid to the NCCAA National tournament which will begin play on March 15^th in Winona Lake, IN. Game time and opponent are still to be determined, so stay tuned to our website for the latest information.