HENDERSON, Nev. / REDLANDS, Calif. – It was a record-setting week for the Colorado Northwestern Men's Basketball team as the Spartans earned road wins at College of Southern Nevada and Community Christian College.
 
The 1,600-mile road trip didn't just produce two wins and zero losses, it also broke several program records. Head Coach Ben Cruickshank's squad tied the program records for wins in a season thanks to a 76-64 victory at CSN on Thursday. On Saturday, CNCC broke the program records for wins in a season, three-pointers in a game, and points against a NJCAA Division I opponent while tying the individual record for blocks in a game all as part of a 106-62 victory at CCC.
 
Thursday night outside Las Vegas saw Mason Mickelson put CNCC on the board to start the game thanks to a pick-and-roll pass from Cole Johnson. Within the first four minutes of game action, Colorado Northwestern extended that 2-0 lead the Coyotes to 9-0 as Tyler Christensen found a layup in transition to cap the opening surge with 15:45 to play in the first half. The Spartans pushed their first-half lead to as many as 14 points thanks to Christensen three-pointer from the wing at the 11:00 mark. However, the home team made its own run and pulled within 22-19 with six minutes to play in the opening period. Mitch Jeppsen stopped the bleeding on a cutting layup thanks to a dime from Christensen. It was Jaxon Parkinson scoring the final points of exciting first half with is own driving layup in the final 25 seconds. That gave CNCC a 36-28 lead going into the locker room.
 
The second half against CSN was an all-out battle as the Coyotes started the second frame on an 11-5 run. That cut Colorado Northwestern's lead to 41-39. Back-to-back layups from Christensen provided some cushion for the Spartans at 45-39, and a highly-contested, second-chance bucket from Mickelsen made it 47-39. Southern Nevada battled back again, but another Christensen three-pointer stemmed the surge. That shot from behind the arc and a slicing layup from Donovan Maestas pushed CNCC to a 66-57 advantage, and the visitors never looked back. They extended their advantage back to 14 points at 72-58 with three minutes to play. The wire-to-wire win came to a close at 76-64 as the Spartans also completed a season sweep of the Coyotes. Christensen's final game resume included 29 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Jeppesen added a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double. Maestas turned in 11 points. Mickelsen led the squad with 15 rebounds.
 
Saturday provided arguably the biggest night in recent program history. The team poured 21 three-pointers in on Community Christian for that program record. The resulting 106 points was a program record for points scored against a NJCAA Division I opponent. As stated above, the 106-62 win in California also broke the CNCC men's basketball record for wins in a season. Individually, Jeppesen led the way for the Spartans with 26 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Christensen chipped in 24 more points with four rebounds, and six assists. Johnson's night featured 20 points, four rebounds, and six assists. Maestas joined the fun with 16 points, six rebounds, and eight assists. Santiago Casarin produced a 10-point, 19-rebound double-double. His five blocks also tied the CNCC record for single-game sways.
 
"It is fun that this group of young men is setting records and doing things that have never been done before at CNCC," said Coach Cruickshank. "But we still have three critical games left in regular season, and we are focused on that right now. When the season is over, it will be easier to look back on some of the great things this team has accomplished."
 
Colorado Northwestern men's hoops is back at home this weekend for two games. The Spartans host North Idaho on Thursday night at 6 p.m. They welcome College of Southern Idahoa on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip. Fans can watch both games with pay-per-view streaming on the Scenic West Network.

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."