Men’s basketball upends UCCS, falls to MSU Denver

The CSC men’s basketball team earned its first victory of the season Friday, beating the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, 75-71, in overtime. However, the Eagles couldn’t complete the weekend, losing to Metropolitan State University of Denver, Saturday, 71-62.
The Eagles jumped out to a 17-0 lead to start the game, electrifying the crowd of nearly 600, and forcing two timeouts from the Mountain Lions in the first five minutes.
In the second half, the Eagle offense cooled off, allowing the Mountain Lions to crawl back into contention, outscoring CSC 36-23, and forced an overtime period.
CSC made eight free throws in overtime to seal the victory.
Warren Gordon, senior of Indianapolis, scored 20 points against UCCS, the only CSC player to hit double-digits. Darius Polley, junior of Amarillo, Texas, and Myles Busby, senior of Niles, Michigan, both finished with nine. Jordan Perry, junior of Murrietta, California, pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
The Eagles shot 42.4 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from long range. Both teams were playing at a fast pace, leading to 46 turnovers between them.
The Eagles played well against the second best team in the RMAC, MSU Denver, but turnovers and offensive rebounds dismantled CSC. The Eagles committed 20 turnovers and gave up 16 offensive rebounds.
CSC shot over 50 percent from the field and 46 percent from the 3-point line. The Roadrunners outrebounded CSC 39-22.
Polley led the way with 18 points. Gordon added another double-digit performance with 17.
The Eagles (1-7, 1-3) are on the road this weekend, playing South Dakota School of Mines and Technology at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and Black Hills State University at 6 p.m. Saturday.