Upset Bid Falls a Bucket Short - Western Colorado University Athletics

DENVER, Colo. Western Colorado roared nearly all the way back from a 20-point deficit to host and 23rd-ranked Regis College, but a last-second chance rolled off the rim and allowed the Rangers to escape the upset bid by the Mountaineers, 69-67.

Regis led 50-30 with 14 minutes to play, only to have that advantage whittled away to almost nothing, led by Avery Rembao who scored 16 of Western's final 37 points.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Regis def. Western Colorado, 69-67
Records: Western Colorado 5-18 (4-13 RMAC), Regis 17-5 (12-4)
Location: Regis University Fieldhouse; Denver, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Rangers never trailed over an opening 20 minutes in which Western shot just 28 percent from the floor while the home team connected on 45% to carry a 35-23 advantage into the halftime locker rooms.
The 12-point deficit at the break grew to that 20-point chasm over the first six minutes of action, but a Matthew Ragsdale 3-pointer ignited Western's furious comeback.
As the clock approached six minutes to play, Western clipped the Regis lead to 11 on Will Willis' trey, then brought the deficit to under double-digits 1:46 later when Elijah Davidson ripped down an offensive rebound and laid in an easy put-back to bring the score to 65-56.
The next two minutes saw Western continue to chip away at the deficit, eventually pulling within two, 67-65, with 1:56 remaining on a Cole Sienknecht 3-pointer.
Regis hit a pair of free throws to lift its lead to four, 69-65, but a pair of Rembao free throws at the other end with 15 seconds to play drew the Mountaineers back to within one field goal.
Western fouled, expectedly, on the ensuing possession sending the Rangers' Ilisia Washington to the free throw line with a chance to ice the victory, but he missed both shots and the second miss was pulled down by Rembao who raced across mid-court and called a timeout with six seconds remaining.
The inbounds play from in front of the Western bench went to Rembao who drove to the basket from the right side. Three Rangers defenders collapsed on him, causing just enough of a disturbance that his driving layup bounced off the glass then twice off the front of the rim before falling outside the cylinder.

COURT NOTES

Western outscored Regis 37-21 over the final 14 minutes. The Mountaineers were 11-of-16 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc during the rally.
Rembao's 22 points led all scores in the game, 16 of those points during the rabid rally.
Ragsdale also pushed into double digits, scoring 14 points, 9 of which were in the second half.
Rembao, with a game-best nine rebounds, Davidson (8) and Willis (7) helped Western to a 36-33 advantage off the glass.
Davidson and Sienknecht dished out five and four assists, respectively, to help the Western offense stage its comeback attempt.
Regis was just 3-for-17 from long range during its win, including only 1-of-8 in the second half. And after hitting all three free throw attempts in the first half, the Rangers knocked down only seven of 16 of their free attempts over the final 20 minutes.

UP NEXT

Western remains on the road for Saturday's RMAC contest, traveling to Golden, Colorado, to face host Colorado School of Mines at 7 p.m. The Mountaineers won the first of the two-game series this season, taking down the Orediggers, 83-78, at home on December 17.
Regis entertains Fort Lewis College in a conference contest Saturday night.

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