COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Regis University men's basketball team improved to 8-1 on the season and 3-1 inside the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) with a 70-66 win over the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Mountain Lions (4-6, 1-3 RMAC) on Saturday night.
 
How it Happened: Regis scored 31 points in the opening half on Saturday night, their lowest first-half output thus far. However, the team held the Mountain Lions 27 points, which is the second-lowest total any of their opponents have scored this season.
 
Sophomore Christian Little continued his brilliant play with 15 first half points on 7-of-9 shooting, adding two steals and two rebounds in 15 minutes on the court. Junior Jarrett Brodbeck added eight points helping the Rangers to a four-point halftime lead.
 
Junior Avonte Nelms got the first bucket of the second half to give RU a six-point lead 33-27 to start off. Back-to-back layups from the home team brought the score much closer but Regis jumped back out in front 53-46 at the 10:05 mark following two made technical free throws from freshman Tomas Auruskevicius and a layup from senior Dexter Sienko.
 
With 8:30 to go in the game, Little gave the Rangers their largest lead of the second half, 57-48, with a layup, but that is when UC-Colorado Springs began their comeback. Two free-throws from the Mountain Lions tied the game at 60 apiece with less than five minutes to go.
 
The teams traded baskets and as the clock ticked down to one minute left, the score was 65-64 in favor of the visitors. On the RU possession, Brodbeck connected on a shot from beyond the arc to give Regis a 68-64 lead. UCCS responded with a shot off the glass to cut the lead to two points with 37 seconds to go.
 
Nelms missed a jump shot, but it was Sienko who came out of nowhere to grab the huge offensive rebound, forcing the Mountain Lions to foul and send him to the free-throw line. The big-man sank both of his shots in clutch time putting the Rangers ahead 70-66 with only seven seconds on the clock.
 
UCCS players rushed down the court but a three-point attempt rattled off the rim and the game came to a close with RU taking the four-point win 70-66.
 
Game Notes: Little finished the night with a game-high 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including a couple huge shots down the stretch. Brodbeck (6-10 FG, 1-3 3-pt) finished with 13 points including a dagger three-pointer with 37 seconds on the clock, silencing the home crowd. Sienko (6-11 FG, 4-6 FT) added 16 points and six rebounds in the contest while junior Ryan Beisty (2-5 FG, 1-1 3-pt) chipped in with seven points and a team-high eight rebounds.
 
As a team Regis shot 28-of-59 from the floor, holding the Mountain Lions to 35.9 percent shooting (23-64 FG) and 5-for-20 on three-point shots. Despite being outrebounded 43-35, the Rangers outscored the home team 34-26.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The men's basketball team will remain on the road next weekend as they travel to South Dakota to take on the Black Hills State University Yellow Jackets on Friday, December 15 and the South Dakota School of Mines Hardrockers Saturday, December 16.