GOLDEN, CO- The Cougars traveled to nearby Mines on Saturday afternoon for a tilt with the Orediggers. After battling closely to the halftime break, the nationally-ranked hosts pulled away in the second half to deal CCU an 85-64 setback. 

Tate Odvody got the scoring started with a tipin, and a Bradley Land layup had CCU ahead early. Schafer Reichart drained a three-pointer while layups from Promise Idiaru and Reichart saw the visitors claim an 11-7 advantage. An Odvody jumper saw CCU take a 17-11 lead midway through the half. 

Mines battled back to take a one point lead, but Bobby McWard splashed in a three to tie things at 23 apiece with 5:44 to go. The rest of the half remained close as the teams battled back and forth, and a late three-pointer from Jacob Everson sent the teams to the break with CCU trailing by just four at 39-35. 

The Orediggers scored the first 9 points of the second half before a jumper from Lincoln Cantrall broke the run. McWard hit a three to bring his team closer, but Mines continued to find their rhythm offensively to take a 65-40 lead into the final 10 minutes of play. 

Shaylen Woodberry got a layup to go, while Land and Cantrall also chipped in layups for their team. Ezra Guest nailed a three-pointer and jumper for a personal five-point run, and Nathaniel Law made a layup. Tanner Hecht got a tipin to go, while Guest continued his strong play with a jumper and three, but the Orediggers ultimately went on to claim the victory by a final score of 85-64. 

Land paced his team with 11 points while Guest poured in 10 points to go with 4 rebounds. Reichart led the team in rebounds with 7, and Idiaru had 6 boards and a pair of assists. 

Colorado Christian will now return home on January 23 for an 8 p.m. MST tipoff against Fort Lewis.