LAKEWOOD, CO- After strong play from start to finish in a convincing victory over UCCS last Saturday, CCU now hits the road for a pair of challenges against quality opponents Black Hills State and Chadron State.
The Cougars will take on the #5 nationally ranked Yellow Jackets in Spearfish S.D. on January 26 at 7 p.m. MST. BHSU is coming off their best year in program history last year, which saw them win the RMAC for the program's first time, and make an appearance in the NCAA Final Four where they lost to eventual National Champion Northwest Missouri State. They have shown no signs of slowing down this year, with a strong core of returners that have led them to an 11-1 conference record and a 17-1 record overall. Defending RMAC Player of the Year and All American Joel Scott is back and leading his team with 22.1 ppg. Matthew Ragsdale follows him with 13.6 points a contest. Scott also carries his team on the boards with 9.6 rpg, while Adam Moussa pulls down 6.1 rebounds a contest. Moussa distributes the ball extremely well, tallying 5.3 assists per game, and Scott's .596 field goal percentage leads the team. Black Hills State is a very talented team full of weapons, and they will be looking for their fifth straight win when they take on Colorado Christian on Thursday.
January 31st will see the Cougars head to Chadron State in Nebraska to take on the Eagles at 7:30 p.m. MST. CSC has exceeded expectations thus far this season, currently sitting in fifth in the RMAC after being picked preseason to finish 14th. They sit at 8-5 in the conference and are currently riding a three-game win streak. Isaiah Wyatt leads the charge with 15.8 points a game followed by Josh Robinson at 12.6. Robinson shows up all over the stat sheet, including leading his team in rebounds with 8.3 a game. Marcus Jefferson tallies 4.3 apg, while Robinson shoots an astounding .611 from the field. Chadron State is a team riding a lot of momentum after a 3-1 homestand that saw them take down Regis, UCCS and Adams State, and they will look to keep that going on Tuesday at home.
The Cougars are coming off perhaps their most complete game of the year in a victory over UCCS, where they played strong wire-to-wire en route to the win. Thursday's matchup will be their first of the year against the Yellow Jackets, however CCU hosted CSC back in early December and took a thrilling overtime victory in that matchup. They will look to exploit the openings they found in that contest as DJ McDonald put up 25 points while Jason Gallant and Noah Kon each had 17. Offensively, McDonald and Gallant excel with an average of 13.7 and 13.2 ppg. Isaiah Alonzo pulls down 7.6 rpg, while freshman Maro Egodotaye has made an immediate impact with 4.9 boards per game. Gallant has distributed well all season, posting 3.2 apg. Egodotaye shoots the ball at a clip of .622 followed by Alonzo at .548. Colorado Christian will be motivated by their recent victory as they hit the road for a pair of matchups, looking to improve their RMAC standing.
Stay tuned to ccucougars.com for all updates on Colorado Christian's upcoming matchups.
