LAKEWOOD, CO- The Cougars returned home on Thursday night after a four-game stretch of RMAC play on the road as they welcomed in Chadron State. Led by a career high 36 points from
Pierce Bazil, CCU rolled to their third straight victory 86-80 as they continue to climb the RMAC rankings.
Pierce started what would be a career night with an early three-pointer, and a
Joshua Reid layup had the offense rolling. Pierce connected on another three moments later, and he continued his torrid start with a layup and his third three of the night to put CCU on top 13-8. After
Jimmy House drilled a three, Chadron State climbed back to tie the game at 17-17.
Porter Bazil hit a three as the barrage from downtown sent the hosts ahead 24-20.
Porter got the crowd on its feet with a thunderous one-handed slam, while yet another three from Pierce made it 29-24 CCU. After the Eagles closed the gap to three points, Porter and House restored the lead with a pair of layups to take the Cougars to the half leading 41-32.
Zachary Reed nailed a three-pointer to start the second half, and a dunk from Pierce had CCU ahead 47-32. Pierce then ignited the crowd once again with a three, while
Schafer Reichart made a layup to keep the lead comfortable. Yet another Pierce three and a three from Reed grew the lead to 65-45 as the game looked to be well in hand.
Pierce continued his unconscious shooting night with his eighth three-pointer of the evening, tying a single game program record for threes. After
Andrew Reichart made a layup to make it 75-55 with 5:54 remaining, CSC went on a run to make things closer than they had been since the first half. The lead eventually shrunk to single digits, but late free throws from Pierce and House iced the third straight victory for the Cougars 86-80.
Pierce had a career night, going 8-12 from beyond the arc to tie a program record for threes in a game. The senior scored a game high and career high 36 points as he shot the lights out of the gym. Reed joined his teammate in double digits with 15 points, while Porter had nine points, 12 rebounds and four assists.
CCU will continue play at home on February 7 with a 3 p.m. MST matchup with South Dakota Mines inside the CCU Event Center.
