GUNNISON, CO- Colorado Christian closed their four game roadtrip on Saturday with a visit to Western Colorado. Trailing at halftime, the Cougars used a huge second half to power their way to an impressive 79-68 victory, their second straight on the road.
Joshua Reid drilled a jumper 15 seconds into the contest, and
Pierce Bazil got a layup to go for an early 4-2 lead. The Mountaineers went on a run from there, eventually taking a 15-4 lead before
Andrew Reichart stopped the bleeding with a pair of free throws. Andrew would get a tipin moments later before Pierce splashed in a three to cut into the deficit.
Reid continued to bring his team back with a layup to make it a four point contest, and the teams battled back and forth from there. Western Colorado would battle to take a 12 point lead with 2:01 to go until the break, but a buzzer beating three from
Zachary Reed made it 42-34 at the break.
Determined to make a comeback in the second half, the Cougars got hot starting with a Reid three-pointer. Pierce sank a pair of free throws and a layup and CCU quickly found themselves in it once again.
Porter Bazil and Pierce tied the game at 45 with layups, and the visitors took the lead on a
Schafer Reichart layup.
Porter would eventually stretch the lead to seven with a layup, but WCU battled back. The hosts rallied to take a brief two point lead before a jumper from Andrew and a
Jimmy House layup restored the Cougar lead. After the Mountaineers tied it at 63 apiece, Pierce nailed a massive three to give his team a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way. The defense played incredibly well down the stretch, while Pierce continued to torch the hosts with two more layups and some free throws to ice the 79-68 comeback victory.
Pierce was outstanding on Saturday, pouring in 28 points with three rebounds, two assists, a block and two steals. Porter was stellar once again with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Andrew had 12 points and seven rebounds in his return to his former home gym.
The Cougars will now return home for a matchup with Chadron State on February 5 at 8 p.m. MST inside the CCU Event Center.
