COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.  Western Colorado roared back from a 16-point second half deficit to inch in front by three, but host University of Colorado Colorado Springs rallied back in the final eight minutes to earn a 98-89 win in a Friday afternoon non-conference game at the Gallogly Events Center.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: UCCS def. Western, 98-89
Records: Western 5-7, UCCS 8-4
Location: Gallogly Events Center, Colorado Springs, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• An 11-0 run by the host Mountain Lions broke open a 20-20 tie during first-half action and propelled UCCS to a 52-37 lead at the halftime break.
• Just over two minutes into the second-half the advantage was 16 (61-45) but Western staged a furious rally that began with a pair of Tyler Halligan free throws.
• Aidan McDowell, NCAA Division II's leading scorer at 27.7 points per game, then earned an old-fashioned 3-pointer, hitting a driving layup and then converting the ensuing free throw to cut the deficit to 11.
• Eventually the Mountaineers would pull within two, 68-66, on a Jordan Kuac layup before pulling even with two more McDowell free throws, the first tie in the game since that 20-20 deadlock at the 9:45 mark of the opening half.
• Kuac put Western ahead, 71-68, with his own old-fashioned three, a layup and free throw, for the Mountaineers' first lead since 19-18.
• UCCS would finally regain its momentum from the first half, with the score knotted at 73-73, going on an 11-2 run to take a nine-point advantage that proved to be the deciding scoring spurt in the game.
• Western closed within six twice over the next minute but the Mountain Lions held off the challenges of the Mountaineers over the final minutes.

COURT NOTES

• McDowell would finish with a game-high 30 points with Halligan next in line with a career best 29 points, followed by Kuac's season high 19 points.
• Dawlton Grant, with eight rebounds, helped Western win the overall battle off the glass, 42-35, but the Mountain Lions' Shawn Williams completed the double-double with 12 boards and 18 points.
• Both teams shot 49 percent from the floor, both hit five 3-pointers during the game, both scored 54 points from within the paint, and both accumulated a total of 32 free throw attempts, but UCCS hit three more baskets and three more free throws to build the final margin on the scoreboard.

UP NEXT
Western moves back into Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play with its next games, playing at Fort Lewis College on Jan. 8 followed two days later with an RMAC game at New Mexico Highlands University.