Colorado Christian vs. UCCS
Thursday, Feb. 18 | 7:30 p.m.
Colorado Springs, CO (Gallogly Events Center)

• Over the last 30 games, the Cougars hold a 16-14 edge in the series
• UCCS has won three of the last four vs. Colorado Christian on its home court

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Down the Home Stretch

As the Cougars conclude the season, they are not scheduled to leave the state of Colorado. Their road trip in South Dakota last weekend was the final non-Colorado games they are slated to play. Beginning with Thursday's game at UCCS, the Cougars will play five games in nine days.

From Way Down Town

Colorado Christian is averaging 11.8 makes from behind the arc which is the fifth best mark in the nation. They have made 155 total three-pointers which is 16th in the country and is 27 better than the second most in the RMAC (Western - 138). 

Stafford Hitting the 20s

Over the last four games, sophomore transfer Andy Stafford has scored at least 20 points in each of those contests. He was the team's leading scorer in three of those contests. Moreover, Stafford led the team in rebounding in eight straight games. 

The transfer from Southwest Minnesota State has been a huge asset to the squad. He is second on the team in scoring (18.2 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (7.7 rpg). Among RMAC players, he ranks ninth and fourth respectively in those categories. 

D.J. Plays The Scoring Hits

Since joining the squad at the start of the spring semester, D.J. McDonald has scored in double figures in the six of the eight games he has played. His 15.1 points per game scoring average ranks third on the squad. He has scored 20-plus points twice, including a career high 24 against Western (Jan. 9). He is hitting 52.8 percent of his three-point attempts while averaging 3.5 makes per game from behind the arc.

Closing In on 1,000 Points

Justin Engesser has been a main stay in the starting line-up. The senior has started every game since his sophomore year (68 straight). He is closing in on 1,000 career points scored and needs just 62 more points this season to become the 11th players to hit the milestone. Currently he is fourth on the team in scoring (9.4 ppg) and is second on the squad in rebounding (5.5 rpg) while leading in steals (1.1 spg). 

Williams is Welcomed

Ross Williams, a junior transfer from Menlo College (CA), has been a scoring force not only in the conference but on a national level. His 20 points per game average ranked third in the RMAC and 37th in the country. He is making 3.7 shots from behind the arc which leads the conference and is third in the nation. Willilams has scored in double figures in all but one game. He has scored at least 20 points in six games with a 35-point effort against CSU Pueblo (Jan. 2) marking his career high. 

Moreover, Williams has been named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week on two occasions. 

Stafford Fitting in Nicely

Andy Stafford has slide into the starting line-up since transferring from SW Minnesota State. While scoring 17.6 points per game the sophomore has every game and is averaging 36.3 minutes per game; the second most on the squad. He is tied for third in the RMAC in three-pointers made (35). 

Welcome to CCU

When the calendar flipped to 2021, the Cougars welcomed five newcomers to the squad. The group of five comes from a wide-range of areas with three players hailing from the southern Pacific, then a pair of transfers from California and Tennessee respectively.

Head Coach - Liam Simmons

The Colorado Christian athletics department is pleased to announce the hiring of Liam Simmons as its ninth men's basketball head coach in program history. The 2020-21 campaign will be his first at Colorado Christian.

The Australian-born Simmons has most recently served as the head coach of the Franklin Bulls in New Zealand's National Basketball League. Simmons joins the Cougars staff with a wealth of knowledge and passion for the game.

During the 2018-2019 season Simmons stepped away from college basketball to focus his effort and energy on enhancing the skills of individual players at the NBA and professional level. As a skill development coach, Simmons based himself in Philadelphia and worked with several players, but dedicated his time and focus to specifically working parallel with the Philadelphia 76ers staff, supporting their coaches in the development of All-Star Ben Simmons.

Simmons has NCAA coaching experience at the Division I and II levels. In 2018 Simmons enjoyed an opportunity to work at University of California Riverside under fellow Australian, and mentor, head coach David Patrick. He also gained collegiate coaching experience at Southwest Baptist (MO) under head coach Clark Sheehy. Simmons spent four seasons (2014-2018) with the NCAA Division II school, earning a promotion in the final two seasons as the program's associate head coach. Before his four seasons with the Bearcats, he was an assistant coach at Nichols State (LA) during the 2013-14 campaign under head coach J.P. Piper.

He earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in Kinesiology in 2007 from San Diego Christian. Simmons also has a Master Degree in Education from Australian Catholic University in Melbourne (2008).