Men’s basketball team loses third straight, fall to 4-5

The CSC men’s basketball team finished 2015 out on a three game losing streak falling to Metropolitan State University-Denver, 63-59, and the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, 86-63. The Eagles fell below .500 on the season, with a current record of 4-5, 2-3 in conference play.

Struggling to find their outside shooting, the Eagles shot 23.5 percent from long range, and just 32.7 percent from the field against MSU-Denver. The Eagles were only successful on five attempts from the field in the first half. CSC also missed 17 of 34 free throw attempts.

With a 12-point deficit at half time, the Eagles did manage to surge in the second half, closing the gap to just one point, until the Roadrunners took off on a seven-point run.

Two seniors led the Roadrunners in scoring, Tony Dobbinson, of Stamford, Connecticut, and DeShawn Phenix, of Fort Worth, Texas. Dobbinson led the way with 16 points and Phenix added 13.

For CSC, Billy Johnson, junior of Cedar Hill, Texas, scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds. Sharif Black, sophomore of Detroit, added 11 points while Warren Gordon, junior of Indianapolis, chipped in 10.

In the second game of the road trip, the Eagles were dominated by the Cougars, 86-63.

CSC improved their long-range attack from the night before, shooting 31.3 percent, but failed to reach 30 percent from the field. However, CSC shot 84.8 percent from the free-throw line, much improved from the 50 percent against the Roadrunners.

Jordan Green, junior of New Rochelle, New York, led the way for CSC, scoring 12 points, shooting a perfect four of four from the charity stripe. This was Green’s first game as an Eagle. Johnson wasn’t far behind with 10 points. The duo were the only Eagles to score in double digits.

UCCS shot 56.1 percent from the field, and out-rebounded the Eagles 43-28. Senior Alex Welsh, of Westminster, Colorado, led all scorers with 24 points. Welsh was one of four Cougars that scored double digits against CSC.

The Eagles next game will be Jan. 2, 2016, against the Western State Colorado University Mountaineers. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m., following the conclusion of the women’s game. The Mountaineers are 2-9 overall, 1-4 against RMAC competition.