RMAC playoffs: UCCS men fall to 0-37 vs. Metro State
DENVER • Colorado-Colorado Springs faced Metro State again Tuesday. The nail didn’t beat the hammer this time either.
Metro State improved to 37-0 all time against UCCS with an 85-62 victory in the quarterfinals of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference playoffs at the Auraria Events Center. The first meeting between the teams was in 1989.
Coach Russ Caton said he never discusses the streak against Metro State with his team, and hasn’t set it as a goal for his program to beat the Roadrunners. And eventually, he figures, the streak has to end.
“I don’t put a whole lot into it — I just feel like eventually the odds are going to have to work out in our favor,” said Caton, whose team finished the season 11-17.
The Mountain Lions also kept another dubious streak going. They became a full member of the RMAC in 1996-97 and still haven’t won a playoff game. They have lost in all five trips.
Despite Metro State’s tough pressure defense, the Mountain Lions kept the deficit at about 10 points through the first few minutes of the second half. A 12-0 run by Metro State put the game away.
The Mountain Lions missed 13-of-21 free throws, had 20 turnovers and allowed Metro State to shoot 65.5 percent in the second half.
“You can’t make a lot of mistakes against Metro,” said senior Cole Smith, who led all scorers with 21 points. “They make you pay for your mistakes and we had too many.”
The Mountain Lions couldn’t get past a couple of huge obstacles this season but there are reasons for optimism.
They qualified for the RMAC playoffs for the second straight season, a first for the school, and have a solid core of players returning. UCCS has nine underclassmen who averaged at least 10 minutes per game.
Caton said he thinks the program has made strides, establishing itself as a regular playoff team, but now needs to set the standard higher.
Smith thought that a win against Metro State would be a big boost.
“Once we can get to that point, I think this team will take off,” Smith said.
