**For Immediate Release**
Aggies Lose Twice in Comfort Inn Classic
- by Scott Puryear of Aggie Sports on 12/03/06

Goodwell, Okla. — The Oklahoma Panhandle State men’s basketball team took part in the Comfort Inn Classic in Gunnison, Colorado over the weekend. In the first round on Friday, the Aggies met a solid Western State squad and lost 74-64. On Saturday, OPSU dropped a 95-71 contest to UC-Colorado Springs.

Western State 74, OPSU 64
Western State held a ten point (32-22) halftime advantage and with a dead even second half, at 42 points each, defeated the Aggies 74-64 in the first round of the Comfort Inn Classic.

The Aggies shot just 18% from the field in the first half, coming alive in the second half with 64%, but Western nearly matched that with their 63% second half effort.

For the first portion of the second half, it was mostly a “bucket for bucket” game, but the Aggies made a strong run and Will Stephenson’s jump shot got OPSU within five points (51-46) with 11:23 remaining. However, that was as close as the Aggies could get and Western State upped their record to 3-1, while OPSU fell to 1-5.

Stephenson had the game’s only “double-double” with 11 points and 11 rebounds. LaChawn Anderson dropped in 18 points for the Aggies and teammate Luke Ogden scored 13, while coming up with a pair of steals.

UC-Colorado Springs 95, OPSU 71
In the second round of the Comfort Inn Classic, the Aggies faced a talented team representing the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. UCCS shot 53% from the field and topped OPSU 95-71.

UCCS held a 44-34 lead at the halftime break.

OPSU’s talented junior forward, Will Stephenson, had his second “double-double” in two nights with 18 points and 12 rebounds. He also blocked a shot and came up with a pair of steals. OPSU freshman guard, Scott Hilton (Ulysses, Kansas), scored 16 points, a dozen of those coming on four long range three-pointers. LaChawn Anderson dropped in 15 points for the Aggies and Luke Ogden added ten.

UCCS raised their record to 4-1 while the Aggies now stand 1-6.

The Aggies will be back on their home court in Goodwell on Tuesday for a game with Eastern New Mexico. Tip-off for that contest is set for 7:00 p.m.

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