Photo Courtesy of Vince Smith / CMU Athletics
GRAND JUNCTION, CO – Effort and hustle were not in short supply as the Colorado Christian men's basketball team opened the 2020-21 season.
While the result was not what the Cougars wanted in their debut, as Colorado Mesa recorded an 80-60 victory, the scoreboard doesn't properly show all aspects of Friday's 40 minutes.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Cougars battled well as the first half unfolded. A handful of shots from behind the arc kept Colorado Christian in a nip-and-tuck battle. Despite being down eight points in the early minutes, the Cougars responded well and took their first lead of the game when Andy Stafford nailed a three-point shot with 11:58 left until intermission to give the visitors a 19-16 edge.
As the next minutes ticked off the scoreboard the defending RMAC Tournament Champions, took back the lead and went up by 11 points (36-25) but a feisty Cougars squad kept battling. The last few minutes showed a slight advantage to Colorado Christian as the home team took a 43-35 lead into the locker room. In the opening half, 18 of the Cougars 30 field goal attempts came from behind the arc.
The shots from distance continued in the second stanza as nine of the first 11 shots for the Cougars came from behind the arc. Colorado Christian kept their deficit within single digit until there was just over 12 minutes left. The Mavericks took a 55-50 lead and scored 19 unanswered points to nab a 24-point lead with just under seven minutes remaining. Colorado Mesa kept their lead in double digits the remainder of the contest.
COUGAR LEADERS: Newcomers Stafford and Ross Williams scored a team high 20 and 16 points respectively. Justin Engesser also posted a double figure effort with an 11-point evening. Engesser had a team best four steals.
On the glass, Claude McKesey grabbed a team high eight rebounds.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Colorado Christian's 37 three-point attempts ties the most for the program in the last 10 seasons
- The Cougars forced 18 turnovers and held a 13-10 advantage in the steal column
- Everyone on the roster played in the contest for the Cougars
UP NEXT: The Cougars travel westbound for a Saturday contest at Westminster. Tip-off for the game in Salt Lake City is set for 5:30 p.m.
