Area college basketball: Mesa State sweeps UCCS
Mesa State shot 59.6 percent from the field on its way to an 81-71 victory over the Colorado-Colorado Springs men's baketball team on Saturday night in Grand Junction. The win completed a double-header sweep for Mesa State.
The Mavericks (12-1, 6-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) are ranked No. 21 in Division II.
Ben Feilmeier led the Mountain Lions (4-9, 2-3) with 15 points.
WOMEN
Mesa State 70, Colorado-Colorado Springs 59
At Grand Junction: The Mavericks used a 12-4 run to open the second half to down UCCS.
Courtney McCaig scored a game-high 19 points for Mesa State (3-9, 2-5 RMAC).
Mallory Lowe had 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Mountain Lions (5-10, 2-6). Lauren Wolfinger added 10 points.
Iowa State 68, Colorado 62
At Boulder: Alison Lacey scored 16 of her team's final 18 points to lead the Cyclones past Colorado.
Lacey finished with a game-high 32 points for the Cyclones (13-3, 1-2 Big 12).
Sierra graduate Chucky Jeffery led Colorado with 17 points. Brittany Spears added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Buffs (11-5, 1-2).
BYU 67, Colorado State 58
At Fort Collins: The Rams, down by double figures late in the second half, used a 6-0 run in the final minutes to close the gap to five, but four BYU free throws in the final 29 seconds seal the win for the Cougars (12-3, 3-0 Mountain West).
Sophomore Meghan Heimstra tied a career high with 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting while also grabbing eight rebounds. Kim Mestdagh, the league's leading scorer, added 15 points for the Rams (9-7, 1-2).
Eastern Washington 51, Northern Colorado 49
At Greeley: The Bears' last-second, 3-pointer fell short as Eastern Washington (11-6, 5-0 Big Sky)held on for the victory.
Senior guard Whitley Cox was the only Bear to score in double figures with 16. Junior forward Lara Merritt added seven points for UNC (9-9, 2-3).
MEN
No. 13 Kansas State 87, Colorado 81
At Boulder: Jacob Pullen scored 18 points and Denis Clemente had 15, helping No. 13 Kansas State hold off scrappy Colorado.
The Wildcats (15-2, 2-1 Big 12) handed the Buffs their first loss at the Coors Events Center in 10 games this season. The Buffaloes hadn’t started 10-0 at home since the arena opened in 1979-80.
Cory Higgins scored a season-best 30 points for Colorado (10-7, 1-2), which upset Baylor on Tuesday night and was seeking to beat ranked teams in consecutive games for the first time in the program’s history.
The Buffs hung with the Wildcats all game but were ultimately done in by fouls and a lack of rebounding. The Wildcats were 38-of-54 from the free-throw line, compared to Colorado’s 27-of-40, and they outmuscled the Buffs with a 40-19 edge on the glass.
No. 18 BYU 91, Colorado State 47
At Provo, Utah: Jimmer Fredette scored 21 points and No. 18 BYU matched the best start in school history with a win over Colorado State.
Fredette’s long jumper and defensive play was part of a decisive 17-2 run at the end of the first half as the Cougars (18-1, 3-0 MWC) pulled away for their 13th straight victory.
Greg Smith scored 13 points to lead Colorado State (11-6, 2-1).
Travis Franklin’s short jumper pulled the Rams within 21-20 with 8:07 to play in the first half, but the Rams missed their final nine shots of the period.
Fredette’s big game was the first time he scored more than eight points since scoring a school-record 49 against Arizona on Dec. 28. He had missed two of the previous four games and played sparingly in the others because of strep throat and mono.
BYU started the 1987-88 season with an 18-1 record, climbing to No. 2 in the AP poll.
Northern Colorado 74, Eastern Washington 71
At Cheney, Wash.: Will Figures scored 21 points as Northern Colorado defeated Eastern Washington in a Big Sky Conference game.
Neal Kingman added 20 points for the Bears (16-4, 5-2). Devon Beitzel added 12 points and five assists.
Mark Dunn scored 16 points for the Eagles (6-13, 2-4). Jeffrey Forbes and Glen Dean added 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Tied at 71, Figures hit a driving layup with 21.1 seconds left, and after an Eastern Washington miss and foul, added a free throw with 2.7 seconds left. Eastern Washington had a chance to tie, but Forbes’ half-court heave hit the front rim.
Northern Colorado trailed by as many as 15 points before rallying to tie it at 39 on Figures’ 3-pointer with 17:25 left. Kingman’s 3-pointer gave the Bears their first lead, 58-57, with 7:14 left.
Louisiana-Monroe 64, Denver 53
At Monroe, La.: Rudy Turner scored 19 points and Louisiana-Monroe defeated Denver .
The Warhawks (8-11, 3-5 Sun Belt), who trailed by as many as 13-4 with 13:30 to go in the first half, rallied to a 28-28 tie at halftime. Louisiana-Monroe used two runs to pull away from the Pioneers (12-7, 5-3).
The Warhawks scored five straight points to lead 33-28 on Turner’s layup 2:01 into the second half.
Denver tied the game at 35-35 on Chase Hallam’s 3 with 16 minutes remaining, but the Warhawks scored eight straight to pull away. Dynile Forbes’ free throws gave Louisiana-Monroe a 43-35 lead with 11:09 left.
Tony Hooper scored 14 points for the Warhawks and Tommie Sykes added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Forbes had five steals for Louisiana-Monroe, which improved to 7-2 at home.
Hallam had 13 points and Brian Stafford added 12 for the Pioneers.
