GUNNISON, CO- CCU began their RMAC slate on Thursday with a matchup in Gunnison against Western Colorado. After trailing by 10 at the half, the Cougars clawed their way back into things in the second half but could come all the way back in a narrow 83-77 setback.
CJ Barnes started the scoring early with a layup, but from there the hosts rattled off 17 straight to take a commanding lead.
Nathaniel Law got the offense back on track with a jumper, and a thunderous slam from Barnes energized the Cougars.
Barnes continued his solid night with a jumper, and
Bradley Land got a jumper to fall to cut into the deficit.
Lincoln Cantrall and
Tate Odvody converted a pair of layups while
Shaylen Woodberry keyed a scoring run with a seven-point outburst beginning with a three-pointer and followed by a pair of free throws and a layup. Land hit a late jumper to send his team to the break trailing by just 10 at 34-24.
Land came out strong in the second half with a quick layup to cut the deficit to single digits. The teams battled from there as
Promise Idiaru sank a three-pointer and
Schafer Reichart scored three straight to make ot 44-39. A pair of free throws from Land brought CCU closer than they had been since early in the first as they trailed by just three. WCU responded with a pair of threes as they took a 58-47 advantage into the final 10 minutes of play.
Woodberry responded with back-to-back threes while Land put in a layup to keep CCU within striking distance. The lead for the Mountaineers hovered in the 10-12 point lead range until the Cougars began to make things closer in the final minutes. A three-point play from Land cut the deficit to seven, and a Reichart layup following a steal kept things close with 1:25 to go. In the end, though, it was not quite enough as the hosts hit some late free throws to claim an 83-77 victory.
Land led his team with 16 points while Woodberry followed with 13 points. Reichart nearly had a double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds, and Barnes and Law each tallied 10 points apiece.
The Cougars will now head to Grand Junction for a Saturday afternoon tilt with Colorado Mesa on December 7 at 3 p.m. MST.
