GRAND JUNCTION, CO- The Cougars headed to Grand Junction to take on Colorado Mesa on Saturday afternoon. Led by a hot-shooting second half, CCU pulled away for a 75-65 victory in their first win over the Mavericks since 2017. 

CJ Barnes started things with a layup, and Tate Odvody got a layup to go shortly after. Land connected from beyond the arc while Promise Idiaru joined the party with a three-pointer of his own. The barrage from downtown continued as Jacob Everson drilled a three, and a tip in from Barnes gave CCU a 19-17 lead heading at the 10 minute mark of the first half. 

The defenses set in a bit more as the half continued, but Shaylen Woodberry hit a three to keep things tight. Everson drilled another three while an Idiaru layup tied the game at 32 apiece at halftime. 

Land gave his team a four-point lead with a jumper, and Idiaru connected on another three as the trips down the floor became a scoring spree for CCU. Schafer Reichart stretched the lead to five with a layup, and a Land three-pointer gave the Cougars an eight point lead. 

Everson stayed hot from beyond the arc as the lead stretched to 12 at 58-46, and a Land three made it 61-46. The Mavericks tried to make a comeback, but another Everson three kept the hosts at bay. As time wound down and the final buzzer sounded, CCU came away with an impressive 75-65 victory over Colorado Mesa. 

The three ball led the Cougars on Saturday as they nailed 12 from beyond the arc and shot an eye popping 66.42% from the field in the second half. Land poured in 16 points on 3-3 shooting from deep, and Everson matched his teammate with 16 points as well with 4 threes. Barnes tacked on 10 points while Reichart and Woodberry facilitated well with 7 and 6 assists respectively. 

The Cougars will return home on December 12 for their conference home opener at 8 p.m. MST against South Dakota Mines.