UCCS men’s basketball had two away games this week, facing off against Colorado Christian University and MSU Denver and getting away with the win in both.
Colorado Christian University vs. UCCS
The Mountain Lions took on CCU on the road on Feb. 18, coming out of the gates quickly. They made their first three field goals, led by freshman forward Mac Stodart who put up the first points of the game for UCCS.
UCCS took a 9-4 lead, but CCU came back and took a 12-11 lead. CCU controlled the remainder of the half, going on an 11-1 run and taking a 42-31 lead into half.
Coming out of the half, sophomore guard Alijah Comithier gave one of the greatest performances of his career and scored the Mountain Lions’ first seven points of the second half.
CCU did everything they could to maintain the lead, still up 49-38 after the first three minutes of the half.
Going into the fourth, UCCS had their work cut out for them as they found themselves down by double digits.
Coming down to the final minutes of play, Comithier knocked down a jump shot and a three pointer to bring UCCS within two points. This left the team down 80-78 with 50 seconds left.
UCCS’ chances started to fade after they sent CCU to the free-throw line, until CCU went 1-of-2 and gave the Mountain Lions a chance to pursue overtime.
With just five seconds left, Mountain Lions head coach Jeff Culver called a timeout in an effort to draw up one last play. Comithier stood ready for an inbound pass which led to a quick three-point attempt which bounced off the backboard to the far corner of the court.
Comithier grabbed the rebound and shot a fade away three pointer from the corner which found its way through the net and sent the game to overtime.
Going into overtime, the Mountain Lions took the momentum from their last-second shot and ran. Holding CCU to only 3-of-9 from the field, Comithier put up another 10 points to give UCCS the win 95-90.
This performance put Comithier past 1,000 points in his collegiate career.
MSU Denver vs. UCCS
Despite less action in their game against the MSU Roadrunners, the Mountain Lions left with another win on Feb. 19.
The game started out fast for both teams as they quickly began a back-and-forth with UCCS taking a 26-22 lead at the end of the first.
UCCS’ shooting could not be contained, knocking down four threes with two coming from freshman guard Jezza McKenzie to help UCCS take a 41-31 lead into half.
Coming out of the half, the Mountain Lions continued to roll, going on another 8-0 run and holding onto a 67-55 lead.
Down to the final minutes, the Roadrunners continued to fight. They brought the game within four points but failing to take the lead, allowing UCCS to give one last push and get the win.
The Mountain Lions’ regular season came to an end this week against New Mexico Highlands University at home on Tuesday, Feb. 22 and South Dakota School of Mines on Thursday, Feb. 24.