CHADRON, NE- Colorado Christian headed East for a Tuesday night tilt with Chadron State in Nebraska. Noah Kon dropped an impressive 32 points as the Cougars battled to the end in a back and forth battle that resulted in a narrow loss 80-73.
The Cougars got off to a fast start, as Noah Kon hit a jumper and Shaylen Woodberry drilled a three-pointer for a quick 9-2 lead. Jacob Everson held the lead at seven with a jumper, while Brenden Patrick made a jumper to get in on the scoring. The Eagles clawed their way back into things, taking a lead with 12 minutes to go in the half, but Bradley Land hit a jumper to send the lead to 19-16. Schafer Reichart put one in as the advantage sat at 21-16 midway through the half.Â
Chadron State closed the half strong, going on several scoring runs to take a lead. The Cougars cut the lead to one, but an Eagles run sent them to the locker room leading 44-36.Â
CSC jumped ahead by 13 early, but CCU showed no quit and fought their way back into the game. A Nic Zeil layup and three from Kon closed the gap to eight, and Zeil and Kon then combined for a pair of shots from downtown as the game tightened up quickly. Kon continued the barrage from deep as the lead was cut to just three. A pair of free throws from Land saw the score separated by just one, and midway through the half Land made a layup to pull his team ahead 59-58.
The Eagles responded with a flurry of points to go back up nine, but Kon countered with a three-point play to bring his team closer. A Zeil three helped tighten the gap, but in the end the Cougars could not quite complete the comeback as the game ended with a final score of 80-73. Â
Kon was brilliant all evening, pouring in 32 points to pace the offense. Zeil and Land joined Kon in double digit points with 10 apiece, while Land also led in rebounds with seven.Â
Colorado Christian are back at home on December 16 as they take on UCCS inside the CCU Event Center at 4 p.m. MST.
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