GUNNISON, Colo.  Western Colorado's Avery Rembao and Robel Desta combined for 42 points against visiting University of Colorado Colorado Springs, but the visiting Mountain Lions withstood the two-headed Mountaineer attack to earn a 79-63 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball victory Saturday at Paul Wright Gym.

Rembao's 22 points led all scorers while Desta was next in line with 20.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: UCCS def. Western, 79-63
Records: Western 2-8 (0-6 RMAC), UCCS 10-3 (4-2)
Location: Paul Wright Gym, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Western fell into a double-digit hole (17-7) a little more than five minutes into the game, and later trailed by 20 (37-17) before trimming down the deficit to 15 (46-31) at the halftime break.
• The tone of the game changed, however, in the opening moments after recess as the Mountaineers started the half with an 8-0 run to pull within seven, 46-39.
• Back-to-back 3-pointers by Kade Juelfs and Desta initiated the run, with Rembao dropping in a layup to finish off the unanswered string.
• The Mountain Lions responded with a 6-0 run of their own to regain the double-digit gap, 52-39, before the two teams combined for a scoreless 4 minutes and 6 seconds, a span finally ended on a pair of Gino Corridori free throws.
• Western clawed back to within seven again, this time at 53-46, nearing the midpoint of the second half, but UCCS outscored the Mountaineers 26-17 the rest of the way to stave off any other Western rallies.

DATA POINTS

• Rembao and Desta were a little cold from long range, combining for just a pair of treys on nine attempts, but were solid from inside the arc while also finishing nearly perfect from the foul line. Desta was 9-of-10 and Rembao was 9-of-11 from the charity stripe.
• Desta's game-high 12 rebounds added to his points night for the only double-double from either team.
• UCCS scored only two more points than did Western from in the paint (32-30) and their four-point advantage (10-6) on points off fast breaks was negligible. And while Western had the upper hand in second-chance points (14-0), UCCS got 22 points from its bench compared to 6 from the Mountaineer non-starters.
• Overall, Rembao and Desta combined to double up the rest of the Mountaineers, who combined for 21 points in the game.
• UCCS came out of the gate hot and finished the opening 20 minutes shooting 56 percent from the floor, while Western had yet to warm up at 27% in the first half.
• The Mountain Lions cooled down to 41% over the final 20 minutes with Western improving to 33%, but the final figures, 48% to 30%, proved to be a margin too large to overcome.

NEXT UP
The Mountaineers are back on the court at Paul Wright Gym in their next two contests, hosting RMAC opponents Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines on January 6 and 7, respectively.