LAKEWOOD, CO – This wasn't the pre-Christmas result the Cougars were looking for.

In their final game before the holiday break, South Dakota Mines used a significant late first half spurt which led them to a 74-57 victory on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED: A nip-and-tuck beginning to the contest saw neither team hold a lead larger than three points until South Dakota Mines held a 23-19 edge with 8:53 left until intermission. The Hardrockers continued with their scoring spurt as they pushed their lead to 37-22 with 3:40 remaining in the stanza. The final moments of the half were played fairly evenly as the visitors took a 42-24 edge into the locker room.

Out of the break both teams had a difficult time finding the bottom of the net as they combined to hit one of the second period's first 11 field goal attempts. Amid the second half shooting woes, Jaxon Hinch had the most athletic moment of the contest when the 6-3 guard drove the lane and threw a one-handed tom-a-hawk dunk for an and-one play.

However, the momentum that play created couldn't be continued as the Hardrockers kept their lead at 15-plus points. The visitors sustained their drive as they never let the Cougars get their deficit down to single digits.

COUGAR LEADERS: The senior duo of Justin Engesser and Aiden Cantwell each had a team high 14 points to pace the Cougars offensive. Andy Stafford (13) and Ross Williams (12) also contributed double figure points.

Engesser also grabbed a team high seven rebounds while playing all but one minute of the contest.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

• The Cougars committed just seven turnovers
• Colorado Christian continued their streak of at least 10 made three-pointers (Five Straight)
• South Dakota Mines scored 24 of the first half's final 29 points
• The Cougars took their first foul shot with 11:47 left in the contest

UP NEXT: The Cougars take the next few days off for the Christmas break. They host CSU Pueblo on Saturday, Jan. 2 to begin their 2021 schedule.