The UCCS men’s basketball team left the Al Kaly Shrine Classic last weekend with back-to-back dominant 30-point or greater victories against Bacone College and Spurgeon College.
After the two wins, the Mountain Lions now have an undefeated 4-0 overall record. The team has yet to play an RMAC team, as the season begins on Dec. 2.
Mountain Lions defeat Bacone College by over 50 points, 120-69
On Nov. 18, the Mountain Lions entered the Al Kaly Shrine Classic undefeated in school history against the Bacone College Warriors. The team carried the momentum from their previous wins with an early 11-3 lead.
Redshirt junior forward William Becker netted the first two buckets of the match. Sophomore guard Jezza McKenzie also had the first three-pointer for the team and followed with a fast-break layup.
The Warriors responded with seven unanswered points thanks to a pair of layups and a three-pointer. Senior Jon’il Fugett dunked after an offensive rebound to put the Mountain Lions ahead by three late in the first quarter.
UCCS pushed their lead in the first half, outscoring the Warriors 61-42 after a three-pointer from redshirt junior guard David Jabedo.
Redshirt junior guard Beni Fungula opened the second half with a layup off an assist from Fugett in the paint. Fugett followed by draining a three-pointer to close the half, putting the Mountain Lions up 19 at the break.
UCCS scored 59 points in the second half, two less than in the first, while the Warriors scored only 27 more points. Seven different Mountain Lions scored 11 points or more in the match.
Sophomore forward Mac Stodart led the charge with 25 points total including five three-point makes and 10 total field goals.
The 51-point win tied for the third-largest margin of victory in program history, and the 120-point performance also set a record for most points for Mountain Lions basketball.
UCCS continues winning streak with win over Spurgeon College,102-67
The Spurgeon College Knights scored quickly in the first 10 seconds of the Nov. 19 match. The Mountain Lions responded with a layup and three free throws from Stodart to give the team a 5-3 lead in the first 90 seconds. Layups from Fugett and redshirt junior guard Kyle Cabs helped strengthen the lead by six points, 9-3.
The entire first half was in UCCS’ favor as the team jumped to a 25-10 lead halfway through the first 16 minutes. The Knights were behind by 15 points or more for the rest of the half.
UCCS shot 16-of-19 from the free throw line in the first half thanks to redshirt freshman forward Logan Bracamonte (3-4), Becker (3-4) and redshirt junior guard Kyle Cabs (4-5).
A layup from Cabs off an assist from redshirt freshman Keegan Phillips closed the half for the Mountain Lions with a 20-point advantage, 51-31.
UCCS carried the momentum in the second half with a rebound by Stodart and a tough three-point make by Fugett. A dunk by Cabs and another three-point play by Stodart extended the lead to 25, 61-36.
Despite scoring 36 points in the second half, the Knights never came close as UCCS scored 51 total in the second half to win the game, 102-67.
Bracamonte led the Mountain Lions in scoring with 19 points, shooting 6-of-7 from the field and 4-of-5 from the three-point range.
The team shot 29-of-35 free throws at 82.95. Stodart, Fungula and Cabs were all flawless at the free throw, scoring 17, 11 and 14 points, respectively. Six different Mountain Lions ended with multiple assists as Fugett had the team-high with five.
Next, the Mountain Lions will be in Honolulu, Hawaii, for the Big Island Holiday Classic on Wednesday, Nov. 23, against the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
