Gunnison, Colo.,   The Western Colorado Men's Basketball team puts up huge fight against #9 Colorado School of Mines, but dropping contest 68-56 on Thursday evening.

JUST THE FACTS
Final Score: #9 Colorado School of Mines Def. Western Colorado University 68-56.
Records: Western Colorado overall 6-14 (RMAC 4-9) | #9 Colorado School of Mines overall 18-3 (RMAC 12-1).
Location: Gunnison, Colo. / Paul Wright Gym

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After a long three minutes, the Mountaineers secured the first basket of the game. Junior Jamel Hollins found senior Trey Anderson wide open for a slam dunk 2-0. The Orediggers responded with a three for the lead 3-2. An alley-oop for junior Andrew Reichart gave WCU a 4-3 edge.
• Colorado Mines swapped baskets with junior Christian Still 6-5 WCU advantage. A five-point run made it 10-6 in favor of CSM. Senior Nalik Veasley from senior Amar Rivers cut the Oredigger's lead to two 10-8.
• CSM earned an 18-10 edge but were fumbling the ball on offense, turning the ball over resulting in Mountaineer ball. Junior Ty Buckmon and Reichart put away two consecutive scores 18-14.
• Under ten minutes to play the Orediggers went up 26-16. Senior Trey Anderson knocked down a huge three followed by a shot in the paint from Reichart cutting the deficit 23-21. Back-to-back scores for CSM answered by Veasley saw the score at 30-23 with three-minutes left.
• The teams went up and down the court for the final moments of the half, the Orediggers went into the locker room winning 38-29.
• The Orediggers advanced their lead 46-31 in the first five-minutes of the contest. Rivers, sophomore Tyler Halligan and Juelfs allowed WCU to get within five 46-41. Seconds later, CSM extended their lead 49-41.
• Freshman Dalton Grant was wide open under the basket for his first score of the game putting the Mountaineers within six 49-43. Although Buckmon recorded another bucket, CSM took a 59-45 edge.
• Halligan found Rivers open for a shot behind the arch for a 59-48 score with under five in the game. The respective teams traded scores, but the #9 Colorado School of Mines kept their lead and won the game 68-56.

COURT NOTES 

• Rivers paced the offense with 12 points, going 5-8 from the field and 2-3 from three. Reichart followed with 10. Buckmon 8. Halligan had 6 while Anderson and Juelfs each had 5.
• Juelfs and Rivers ended with 3 assists each. Hollins and Veasley earned 2.
• Anderson and Veasley each pulled down 4 boards. Reichart, Rivers, and Grant recorded 3.  
• Rivers got his hands in the passing lane, earning 4 steals.
• WCU shot 39.7% from the field, 21.1% from behind the arch and 85.7% from the free throw line.
• The Mountaineers earned 22 bench points, 11 fastbreak points, 9 second chance points and 38 points in the paint.

THEY SAID IT

 
UP NEXT
Mountaineer men's basketball hosts RMAC opponent Metropolitan State University Denver on Saturday Feb. 8 at 3pm.

For more information visit gomountaineers.com