RANGELY, Colo. – The Colorado Northwestern Men's Basketball team traveled to Utah for the Snow Classic over the weekend where they went 1-1 against Eastern Wyoming and Casper College.
Friday's result was a thrilling 91-89 victory over the Lancers from Eastern Wyoming. The Spartans got off to a hot start, shooting 58 percent from the floor including a 42-percent mark from three-point range. Sophomore
Jude Ballstaedt fueled the outburst by going 5-for-5 from long range in the first half alone. He led all scorers with 15 points at the break. Freshman
Cole Johnson chipped in 11 first-half points thanks to a 5-of-7 clip from the floor. That production gave CNCC an eight-point lead at halftime.
The second half was a battle that saw Spartan freshman
Mitch Jeppesen explode for 11 points and seven rebounds. In the closing minute of the game, Ballstaedt nailed his seventh triple of the game which gave Colorado Northwestern the lead over Eastern Wyoming for good. Ballstaedt finished the game touting 23 points. Johnson added 18 points and nine assists. Jeppesen's final line featured 17 points and eight rebounds.
Tyler Christensen rounded it out with 12 points.
On Saturday, the Spartans faced Casper College in a high scoring affair that resulted in a 104-91 defeat. The loss came despite another hot start for CNCC as they shot 56 percent from the floor and nearly 40 percent from behind the arc in the first half. Colorado Northwestern used that efficiency to build a lead as large as eight points.
Cole Johnson helped the effort with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting while
Santiago Casarin scored 11 points. Unfortunately, turnovers were a problem for the Spartans and they would go into halftime trailing the Thunderbirds by a score of 46-48.
The second half saw Casper build its lead all the way to 18 points with just over 13 minutes to play. However, the Spartans would not go quietly into that night. As the clock ticked under six minutes remaining in the game, CNCC strung together several defensive stops and converted on offense. The surge allowed Colorado Northwestern to cut Casper's lead to 10 points. But that is the closest CNCC would get. Game leaders for CNCC were
Tyler Christensen,
Cole Johnson, and
Mason Mickelsen. Christen had 23 points, five assists, and four rebounds. Johnson scored 23 points, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out three assists. Mickelsen notched 14 points as well.
Colorado Northwestern men's basketball continues the season this weekend in Twin Falls, Idaho, at the Rob Green Classic hosted by College of Southern Idaho. The Spartans face Northeastern Junior College on Friday at 3 p.m. They take on Western Nebraska on Saturday at 3 p.m. as well.
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."
