The Mountain Lions’ two quarterfinal games on March 4 came down to the final minutes.
The No. 6 seeded women’s team beat No. 3 seed Adams State, 63-60, with a 3-pointer from junior shooting guard Gia Bradley in the final 8 seconds of regulation. The No. 7 seeded men’s team fell to No. 2 seed Regis in overtime, 93-90, in a game that saw the lead change 16 times.
Bradley 3-pointer advances women’s to semifinals, 63-60
The Mountain Lions led for most of the quarterfinal game against Adams State. In the third quarter, their lead peaked at 15 points, 45-30. The start of the fourth quarter saw missed shots and fouls by the Mountain Lions. With less than 5 minutes left in the fourth, Adams State tied the game, 51-51, challenging the lead that the Mountain Lions had held since 4 minutes into the first quarter.
A layup by freshman point guard Jayla Jackson-Allen, a 3-pointer by junior point guard Ellie Reynolds and free throws by redshirt junior guard Amyah Moore Allen kept the Grizzlies at bay. However, it was still tied, 60-60, after a 3-pointer from Adams State with 0:55 left in the game.
UCCS called a timeout with 21 seconds remaining after a rebound from forward Maison White with the game still tied 60-60. The returning play saw Amyah Moore Allen, who was named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week for her 40-point blowout on February 27, draw the attention of the entire Adams State offense while draining the clock, leaving Bradley wide open for a 3-pointer that she sunk to win the game, 63-60.
The Mountain Lions will compete in the RMAC Championship tournament semifinals on March 7 against No. 2 seed Western Colorado. The Mountain Lions beat Western Colorado, 54-50, in their last face-off on Jan. 30.
Men’s basketball loses quarterfinal in overtime, 93-90
The men’s basketball season came to a dramatic end when they lost to Regis in overtime. The Mountain Lions went into the game as the underdogs, given their low seeding and the season-ending injury to their captain William Becker when they lost to Regis in their final regular season game on March 1.
UCCS controlled the ball for the first ten minutes of the first half, before UCCS and Regis took the lead by one possession in the middle of the half. The first half ended with Regis up by 7 points, 47-40.
Going into the final minute of the second half, UCCS was down 2 points, which became 4 points after Regis’ Jalen Brown sunk 2 free throws. A layup by Gavin Carter with 0:43 to go brought the score to 81-79. One more successful possession by UCCS could win or tie the game.
With less than 10 seconds left in regulation, Regis had a shot clock violation that gave the ball to UCCS. Redshirt junior guard Jezza McKenzie scored a layup as the buzzer sounded in the Regis University Fieldhouse sending the game into overtime, 81-81.
Each team was unable to have more than a 1-possession lead for much of the 5-minute overtime period but ultimately fouls and missed free throws by the Mountain Lions gave Regis the victory, 93-90.
Freshman guard Gavin Carter and redshirt sophomore Derek Pranger, new faces to the team this season, led the team’s scoring each with 21 points.
Shooting guard #2 Gia Bradley during the Feb. 27 game. Photo by Lillian Davis.