LAKEWOOD, CO – A high scoring contest from the opening tip nearly turned into a runaway before a late Colorado Christian surge made for an exciting finish in the season finale.

Despite losing a double figure lead in the final minutes, Regis held on for a 93-89 win against the Cougars on Friday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED: A high scoring start to the game had each team on track for 100 points after the first 10 minutes. Before the fans could settle into their seats, each team had scored 25 points and were shooting 60-plus percent from the floor. During the next five minutes Regis put together a scoring run that saw them take a 39-28 edge.

The home team battled back and took a brief lead (43-42) when Justin Engesser nailed a three-pointer with 2:21 left until halftime. As the final seconds ticked off the clock Claude McKesey hit a driving lay-up to send the teams into the locker room knotted at 46. Each team was shooting just over 50 percent after the initial stanza.

Each team's offense continued to produce but the visitors were more effective in the early second half moments. With just over 12 minutes left the Rangers held a 70-61 lead as they hit 11 of their first 15 shots. As the game move forward the Regis defense forced turnovers and they continued to hit shots in building an 87-68 lead with 6:38 minutes left.

Colorado Christian got their deficit down to single digits when Spencer Hoffman's spinning lay-up made the score 87-78 with 4:31 left. On the Cougars next possession Justin Engesser's three-pointer pulled the home team with six points. The comeback continued as the home found themselves down just three points in the closing seconds.

Down 89-86, the Cougars had a jumper from Jake Hornick with 26 seconds left fall short. Forced the foul, Colorado Christian sent Regis to foul line where Roberto Vercellino hit a pair from the charity strip. Despite a Hoffman three-point play on the ensuing possession, the Rangers hit another two from the foul line to seal the game.

COUGAR LEADERS: Hoffman had a team high 22 points as the sophomore hit 10 of his 14 attempts from the field. He also grabbed a team high nine rebounds.

Engesser went 7-for-10 from the floor as he registered 18 points while handing out a team high six assists. The duo of Collin Huun and Elijah Oliver each had 12 points to complete the double figure scorers for Colorado Christian.

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

• Regis finished the game with a 53.8 percent shooting percentage (35-for-65)
• The Rangers held a 20-9 edge for points off turnovers
• Each team had 44 points in the paint
• Regis moves onto next week's RMAC Tournament as the No. 8 seed

UP NEXT: Friday's game concludes the Cougars season.