GUNNISON, CO – Friday night was a time for a pair of firsts this season.
Colorado Christian notched a hard fought 93-92 win at Western. The victory is the squad's first winning streak this season while playing their first overtime game of the year.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The tone of the tightly contested game was set in the first half. During the opening 20 minutes there were six ties and six lead changes with neither team securing a lead larger than six points. Colorado Christian held a 22-16 edge with 7:16 left until intermission but offense took over before the buzzer. The teams combined for more points in those last seven-plus minutes than the first 13 minutes. Western went into the locker room with a 40-38 edge.
The solid offensive effort continued during the opening moments of the final stanza; as did the tight score. Aside from a brief eight-point lead (48-40) by the Mountaineers, the squads stay within a possession or two of one another until the game's final minutes.
Braxton Tucker hit one of two free throws with just over a minute left to knot the score at 81-81. The Mountaineers missed on their field goal attempt with 28 seconds remaining. On their last possession of regulation, Colorado Christian worked the ball to Braxton Tucker but his eight-foot jumper rolled around the rim and out.
The extra session played out just like regulation. A seemingly pivotal play came with 1:26 left when Western's Cole Sienknecht drove to the basket and was called for an offensive charge. However, after a video review it was switched to a blocking foul. Sienknecht made the field goal attempt during the and he completed the three-point play with the foul shot to give his team an 89-87 lead.
However, the undaunted Cougars scored three unanswered points. Collin Huun hit a foul shot with just over a minute left then Stefan Hackethal made a driving lay-up with 33 ticks left to give Colorado Christian a 90-89 edge. On Western's ensuing possession they were called for a five-second inbounding violation. Jake Hornick came down and sank a pair of shots from the charity stripe before Western three-point attempt to tie the game didn't fall to all but secure the win.
Hackethal hit one foul shot and Western never had a serious chance to take the lead during the final seconds.
COUGAR LEADERS:
Collin Huun hit his first three shots from behind the arc en route to his 20 points off the bench. He ended up nailing five shots from deep. Hackethal also scored 20 points as he went 8-for-15 from the floor. Before fouling out, Braxton Tucker posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Spencer Hoffman (10) and Hornick (14) rounded out the double figure scorers. Justin Engesser had a solid evening with a 10-rebound, seven-point performance.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Eight points was the largest lead either team had
- There were 21 lead changes and 15 ties
- For the third straight game the Cougars made at least 10 three pointers
UP NEXT: The Cougars conclude their weekend road trip with a 7:30 p.m. game tomorrow at Colorado Mesa.
