RANGELY, Colo. – Back-to-back home games against Air Force Prep resulted in two losses for the Colorado Northwestern Men's Basketball team last Friday and Saturday.
 
The weekend opened on Friday evening with the Spartans dropping a narrow, 81-80 decision to Air Force Prep. Saturday saw CNCC fall by a score of 85-63 to the same team. Injuries played a factor as Colorado Northwestern saw its three-game win streak snapped.
 
On Friday, the Spartans faced an 8-0 deficit after three minutes of action. However, Tyler Christensen spurred a rally with 18 first-half points. The freshman forward was 6-of-8 from the floor while nailing three shots from behind the three-point arc. That production sent CNCC into halftime trailing by just one point.
 
The momentum carried into the second half and pushed Coach Cruickshank's squad to an 11-point lead with four minutes to play. However, free throws were the Spartan's Achilles' heel. They went just 18-of-38 from the charity stripe for the night as the visitors prevailed, 81-80. Cole Johnson was CNCC's leading scorer thanks to 24 points including 16 in the second half. Christensen finished with 18 points, AJ Creech had 14, and Santiago Casarin notched a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double.
 
Saturday afternoon set a rematch between Colorado Northwestern and Air Force Prep at Hefley Gym. A back-and-forth first half ended with the visitors leading by 10 points. The second half was much of the same with Air Force Prep pulling further away. The Spartans were held to 36-percent shooting from the floor including a 25-percent mark from three-point range. Christensen, Johnson and Jude Ballsteadt all tallied 10 points apiece. Casarin came off the bench and added 10 rebounds as well.
 
Colorado Northwestern returns to action this weekend at the Snow Classic. The Spartans face Eastern Wyoming on Friday at 5 p.m. and Casper College on Saturday at 1 p.m. Both games will be played on the campus of Snow College in Ephraim, Utah.
 
Fans can keep up with CNCC men's basketball on social media at @CnccMbb on "X" (formerly Twitter), at cncc_mbb on Instagram, and on Facebook by searching "CNCC Men's Basketball."