GUNNISON, CO- The Cougars headed to the western slope on Saturday as they took on Western Colorado inside Paul Wright Gymnasium. The two teams battled to the very end, but when the final buzzer sounded CCU fell by a slim margin of 80-78. 

Bradley Land got the scoring started with a layup, and Noah Kon quickly made it 4-0 with a layup of his own. Bobby McWard and Shaylen Woodberry nailed three-pointers to push the lead to six, and Land converted consecutive layups for a 10 point lead. A Schafer Reichart layup pushed the advantage to 11, and Land earned a three-point play as CCU raced ahead 23-9. A Nic Zeil three made it 27-12 midway through the half as the Cougars raced ahead early. 

The Mountaineers fought their way back into the game, closing the gap to one and eventually taking the lead by a point heading to halftime 40-39. 

Western Colorado pushed their lead to six, but the Cougars fought back. A Kon layup closed the gap to one again, and the teams were separated by just four heading to the final ten minutes.

Reichart gave his team the lead with a layup as the teams battled back and forth. The teams stayed within two points of one another for a long time, but a Mountaineers run put them up nine with 1:06 to go. CCU did all they could in the end, as McWard hit three free throws, but a Kon layup with five seconds to go was not quite enough in an 80-78 game. 

Noah Kon led the offense with 29 points, while Land posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. 

The Cougars are back in action at home on February 16 as they take on CSU Pueblo at 7 p.m. MST.