Men’s basketball slips up in final seconds, losing to Fort Lewis,  87-84 

The men’s basketball team was caught in the final seconds when losing to Fort Lewis over the weekend, 87-84. The loss brought UCCS’ record to 11-7 overall and 5-5 in RMAC. 

The Mountain Lions grew a big early lead with guard Jezza Mckenzie scoring seven of the first 11 points. This early rush gave UCCS a 10-point advantage over the Skyhawks, 11-1. 

Forward Derik Pranger was on a hot streak with three free throws and a layup, giving the Mountain Lions a 12-point lead, 20-8, with 12 minutes left in the half. The double-digit lead didn’t discourage the Skyhawks, whose forward Deng Choul kept the pressure on with two 3-pointers and a 2-point jumper late in the first half. With UCCS hanging on to their momentum in the final minutes, they kept a 9-point lead, looking strong going into the second half. 

Slowly but surely, Fort Lewis chipped away at the score, eventually tying up the game at 64-64 halfway through the second half where the Mountain Lions started to break down. Missed shot after missed shot, the Skyhawks took the advantage and never let the Mountain Lions keep more than a 2-point lead.  

As the back and forth scoring continued, Pranger swished a three pointer to gain a 1-point lead, making the score 82-81. With 30 seconds left on the clock, Fort Lewis took a timeout.  

With 12 seconds left, UCCS had possession, but as players moved to get open, the Skyhawks intercepted the pass, and secured an easy layup to take the lead. The next play was a repeat of the last. UCCS missed a pass again, and Fort Lewis took advantage of the error for another easy layup, 85-82, with four seconds left on the clock.  

With one last play, sophomore point-guard Xavier Martinez for the Mountain Lions dribbled with speed down the court, threw a shot up for a three and hit the rim as the buzzer went off, confirming a UCCS loss, 87-84.  

Mountain Lion Pranger had a career-high scoring performance with 28 points against Fort Lewis. UCCS had 20 turnovers on top of the Skyhawks’ 14 steals, leading to a big loss of scoring opportunities.  

Guard #22 Jezza McKenzie deals with pressure from Fort Lewis. Photo by Josiah Dolan.
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