CCU Men's Basketball came close, but fell just short of a victory on Friday night as they played Adams State University. CCU lost 91-86 in a rollercoaster game with one too many downs than ups.
In the first half, the Cougars came out strong, but trailed behind an athletic Adams State squad by a consistent five points. CCU senior
Isaiah Hanson led for blue and gold with 17 points and five rebounds. Hanson's standout shooting from outside (4-6) came close, but couldn't take the lead. Other than Hanson the point spread was pretty even among the Cougar squad. They went into the locker room down 45-40 shooting 41% from the field, 58% from three, and 71% from the line.
The Cougars turned it up in the second half. Their offense was connecting and their shots were dropping. With 16 minutes left in the game, CCU's defense put pressure on Adams and the Grizzlies started to miss their shots and turnover the ball. A quick burst of points from CCU's
Christian Hyatt and
Jeremiah Hanson had them back in the game and only down one point 51-50 and then again at 53-52. CCU did everything they could to overcome the Grizzlies, but they were too resilient and kept the lead. ASU gained ten points in a two minutes leading 64-54 with 12 minutes in the game.
The gap grew larger as the minutes ran down on the clock. With a little under seven minutes left in the game CCU freshman #20
Justin Engesser and redshirt junior #14
Stefan Hackethal heated up. Engesser gained the Cougars some momentum as he banked two threes, but still they trailed by 13 points. With 3:25 on the clock,
Stefan Hackethal dunked. He then made two jumpers, a free throw, and a three to have the Cougars only down five points at 86-81. There were only 22 seconds left in the game now and Engesser made another three-pointer. 87-84 and the Cougs had their last opportunity to score, but they weren't quick enough in the final drive and lost 91-86.
It was an incredible performance by many Cougars. Five players were in double digits.
Isaiah Hanson played all 40 minutes and had a double double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman
Justin Engesser totaled 16 points going 5-6 from the field, 4-5 from three, and 2-2 from the line.
Stefan Hackethal had 13 points and five assists.
The Cougars will celebrate their seniors at tomorrow night's game vs CSUP. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM.
