Gunnison, Colo.,   The Western Colorado Men's Basketball team defeated Colorado Christian University and secured their first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win.

JUST THE FACTS
Final Score: Western Colorado Def. Colorado Christian University 83-77
Records: Western Colorado overall 2-4 (RMAC 1-0) | Colorado Christian University overall 3-3 (RMAC 0-1).
Location: Gunnison, Colo. Paul Wright Gym
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cougars were first on the board 2-0. The Mountaineers answered back, going on a 17-point run. Senior Amar Rivers put up seven, junior Jamel Hollins added four, sophomore Tyler Halligan and senior Trey Anderson both contributed threes.
• After seven minutes, CCU finally scored another bucket 17-4. Halligan fed junior Trevin Leick for a dunk putting WCU back up by seventeen 19-4. The Cougars answered back with a dunk of their own but continued to trail 19-6.
• Colorado Christian was sent to the charity stripe, going one-for-two. On the opposite end, Halligan sunk a three to elevate the Mountaineer's score 23-7. Two scoreless minutes passed; the Cougars earned another bucket 23-9.
• A timeout was called by CCU. Out of the timeout Rivers finished around the rim 25-9. With just under six minutes to play, junior Ty Buckmon, Leick and Halligan hit shots to put WCU up by twenty 31-11. The Cougars kept battling, climbing their way back, going into halftime down by ten 34-24.
• It took two minutes to secure the first basket of the second half. CCU slammed a dunk, now down eight, 34-26. Rivers answered back 36-26. Points were traded by the respective teams, seniors Kade Juelfs and Spencer Wright putting up points for the Mountaineers.
• Around the fourteen-minute mark, it was a three-point game in favor of WCU 46-43. Junior Andrew Reichart and Buckmon put the Mountaineers up by seven, 50-43. The contest got close, but Halligan went two-for-two from the charity stripe to put WCU up 55-47.
• Juelfs hit two threes while Hollins finished in the paint, WCU went up by ten with under ten minutes left to play 63-53. The Cougars earned a layup, but Rivers recorded a three-point play 66-55.
• The Cougars tried to compete, the end of the game was chaos, but the Mountaineers played strong on both side of the ball and kept their composure. This resulted in a RMAC for WCU 83-77 over CCU.

COURT NOTES

• Rivers led the Mountaineer offense with 17 points, followed by Halligan followed with 16, Juelfs earned 13, Anderson had 10 and Hollins, and Reichart ended with 6. Rivers helped his teammates, recording 5 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Halligan earned 4 assists. 
• Hollins won the battle of the boards, pulling down 6 rebounds. Rivers was next with 4 while Anderson, Halligan, Reichart and Juelfs each grabbed 3.
• Wright contributed 2 steals, an assist and 7 points.
• WCU shot 56.3% from the field, 50% from three, and 58.8% from the charity stripe. The Mountaineer bench earned 29 points. WCU earned 13 points off turnovers, had 13 second chance points, and 28 points in the paint.

UP NEXT
The Mountaineers will host Colorado State University Pueblo on Saturday December 7^th for an RMAC matchup starting at 3pm.