GUNNISON, Colo.  Western Colorado put on a scoring display Saturday afternoon in a dominating 98-72 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win over visiting Regis University, draining half of its field goals in the game from behind the arc.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Western def. Regis, 98-72
Records: Western 5-5 overall (3-1 RMAC), Regis 1-6 (0-2 RMAC)
Location: Paul Wright Gym, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Western was on fire right from the start of the game, getting a driving layup from Tyler Halligan to begin the scoring, and a layup from Joanis Koulisianis to jump out to a quick 4-0 lead.
• The Rangers' Lance Mazur hit a 3-pointer to trim the lead, but Aidan McDowell answered from long range at the other end followed by a trey by Halligan, a McDowell layup and then a Jordan Kuac fastbreak layup after a Mason Mottashed steal that put the finishing touches on a 10-0 burst that set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
• The gap grew to 26 (45-19) with just under five minutes to play in the opening half before Regis would find some footing and claw back to withing 50-32 at the halftime break.
• Four minutes into second half action the Rangers had cut further into their deficit, pulling to with 13 (56-43). It was over, though, when McDowell drained three successive 3-pointers to turn a 64-45 lead into a 71-47 advantage.
• A Reese Strawn 3-pointer would later up the gap to 33 points before Western quieting things down in its offensive end and settled for a 26-point winning margin.

HARDWOOD NOTES

• McDowell finished with a game-high 34 points while Halligan added 27 and Kuac chimed in with 15.
• The Mountaineers hit 19 of their 38 total shots from 3-point range, led by 9 from McDowell, 5 from Halligan and 3 by Kuac.
• Western was strong off the rim in the victory, finishing with a 39-31 rebounding advantage, including allowing Regis to come down with just 4 offensive rebounds all game.
• An oddity within the game was the Mountaineers' total of only three trips to the free throw line, hitting all three, compared to an 18-for-23 afternoon from the stripe by the Rangers.

THEY SAID IT


UP NEXT
Western host New Mexico Highlands for a non-conference game Tue., Dec. 16 in Paul Wright Gym.