LAKEWOOD, CO – Constantly looking to overcome a deficit, the Cougars ran out of steam in the final minutes.
In their season opener the Colorado Christian men's basketball dropped a 78-66 decision to DBU on Friday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The visitors raced out to a double figure lead at the first half's midway point and continued to hold a commanding lead. Foul trouble caused Colorado Christian to go to their bench as the Patriots held their advantage.
Colorado Christian got their deficit down to five points on four occasions but couldn't pull any closer during their first frame. Already ahead 35-30, DBU closed the first half on a 14-4 scoring spurt as they took a 15-point lead into the locker room.
The Cougars were able to rally as they got their deficit down to 51-47 with just over 15 minutes left to play. The game's lead stayed in the low single digits and when Jake Hornick hit a three-pointer with 8:57 remaining, Colorado Christian was down by just two points (59-57). It was as close as they would get.
DBU proceeded to grab the game's momentum as went on a 12-3 scoring spurt to take back their double-figure lead. The visitors led by at least 11 points the rest of the game.
COUGAR LEADERS: In his first game in a Cougar uniform, Elijah Oliver scored a team high 25 points as he went 6-for-15 from the floor while hitting all nine of his foul shots. The transfer junior came off the bench to play nearly 32 minutes. Justin Engesser tallied a double-double with a 12-point, 12-rebound effort.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE:
- Colorado Christian went 20-for-21 from the foul line
- The Patriots held a 36-10 advantage for points in the paint
- Chandler Jacobs had a game best 28 points while grabbing nine rebounds
D2 CONFERENCE CHALLENGE: The contest was apart of the D2 Conference Challenge in which team from the RMAC compete with Lone Star Conference. Earlier in the day, St. Edwards hit a 35-footer at the buzzer to claim a 79-76 win against Colorado Mesa.
UP NEXT: The Cougars hosts No. 20 St. Edwards to close out the opening weekend event at 1 p.m. Prior to that Colorado Mesa and DBU play at 11 a.m.
