Cougar Connection
March/April 2007
Alumni Weekend Recap
The CCU Athletics Department would like to thank everyone who joined us this past February 10th for the annual Athletics Alumni Weekend.
The Cougar faithful came out in droves to not only compete in the highly anticipated alumni basketball game, but also support the men’s and women’s varsity basketball teams as they battled conference rival UC-Colorado Springs.
While taking in a bird’s-eye view of the game from the booster club room, CCU grads caught up with friends and family and enjoyed a delectable entree buffet.
Capped with a thrilling conference victory by the men’s team, the evening was a tremendous success for all involved. Thank you again to those who joined us during this special event. We look forward to seeing each of you again in the very near future.
Late Season Efforts Land Men’s Basketball in Conference Playoffs
Despite a slow start early in the year, the men’s basketball team came on strong in the latter part of the season and stormed into the conference tournament as one of the RMAC’s hottest teams.
Led by junior forward Brian Stamer’s game-high 32 points and 12 rebounds, the men crushed Colorado Mines on the road, earning themselves the conference eighth seed and a first-round postseason date with top-ranked Metro State.
Paced by another all-American Stamer performance, the Cougars gave Metro a feisty showing before eventually conceding a 13 point loss. Stamer notched 25 points and 18 rebounds as the men pulled to within three points with six minutes to go. But that night the Cougars could not match the strong shooting of Metro State and 6'8" forward Jesse Wagstaff, who rattled off 16 points in the final six minutes to secure the win for the Roadrunners.
Despite this year’s playoff loss, the future is bright for CCU men’s basketball. With postseason experience under their belts, and the departure of only one senior heading into 2007-2008, the men already look to be one of the RMAC’s top teams.
Stamer, Long, and Neuhaus Rack Up Postseason Honors
The postseason RMAC awards were a definite highlight this year for Cougar men’s basketball. Three players earned all-RMAC recognition after a tremendous season that saw the men surpass last year’s win total and break into the conference tournament.
Junior forward Brian Stamer led the pack with a First Team All-RMAC spot. During the season, he amassed 16 double-double performances, averaging 20 points and a conference-high 10 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Jordan Long was recognized with an RMAC East Division Honorable Mention nod for his league-leading five assist per-game average, as well as an effective and consistent record as the Cougar floor general.
Big man Justin Neuhaus (standing 6'11") wrapped up men's basketball's first-ever Freshman of the Year Award following a stunning rookie campaign. In his first year of NCAA action, Neuhaus led the conference in blocked shots, altered countless others, and averaged eight points and five boards per game.
Baseball Looking Strong Early On
The Cougar men’s baseball team is already off and running into their second full season of NCAA competition. While one can expect shortcomings in any second year program, the men look to be well ahead of schedule, already racking up some important conference wins and surpassing last year's win total for the entire season.
Getting the year started on the right foot, the men swept Hastings College 8-7, 7-0 in doubleheader action, and in the process recorded the program’s first ever shut out thanks to a strong five innings by Cougar ace Justin Quador.
Keeping the momentum alive, CCU summarily defeated cross town rival Metro State 7-6, 6-3 in the 2007 conference opener.
While suffering some setbacks to RMAC powerhouses Mesa State and New Mexico Highlands, the men recovered to down Colorado Mines 17-13 in an offensive slugfest on March 25th.
The April schedule looks to be a tough one, with road games at Mesa State and Nebraska-Kearney, but if the men fare well and notch a couple of upsets, they stand to be right in the thick of the playoff hunt in early May.
Davis and Aguirre Earn All-RMAC Honors, Buckley Named Coach of the Year
It was another year of improvement and a step in the right direction for the young and talented CCU women’s basketball team. The ladies concluded their strong season by stealing the show at the postseason awards ceremony.
CCU’s do-all forward, Sara Davis, averaged 12 points and six rebounds per outing this season, notched 29 steals, and started all 27 games. For her efforts, she was named to the RMAC East Division Second Team.
Freshman standout Talmai Aguirre joined Davis on the Second Team and was also named RMAC Freshman of the Year. She is the first Lady Cougar to receive this honor in nearly a decade. One of the league’s best pure scorers, Aguirre poured in a team-high 17.5 points per game and ranked second in conference for completed three-point attempts per game.
Head coach Kristen Buckley was also honored this season as RMAC East Division Coach of the Year. Buckley’s hard work on the recruiting trail resulted in arguably the conference’s best freshman class. Although young, the ladies brought an excellent game and team chemistry to the season. With such a strong freshman class, combined with the return of Davis and long-range specialist Ashley Braasch, Cougar fans can anticipate big things in the near future.
Athlete of the Month
Brian Stamer - Men's Basketball
Junior forward Brian Stamer ended a stellar February performance by being selected to the 2007 All-North Central Region Second Team.
Stamer is coming off of an unbelievable junior season in which he averaged 20.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. He poured in 16 double-doubles on the year, led the conference in steals (2.11 per game), shot 54 percent from the floor, and exploded for a 2006-2007 conference-high 40 points on February 17 versus Chadron State. He was a major factor for the Cougars during the final four games of regular season play, averaging 29 points and 14 rebounds per game while leading the men to a spot in the RMAC playoffs.
Stamer earned RMAC Player of the Week honors in three of the final five weeks during regular season action. He capped his junior year with a 25 point, 18 rebound burst versus Metro State in the first round of the postseason conference tournament.
A Letter from the Athletics Director
In February, I had the pleasure of speaking in front of the CCU Board of Directors during their quarterly meeting. This was my first opportunity since becoming CCU's athletics director to personally share with this group about Gods call on our particular department. Click here for some highlights of the things I shared with them.
After sharing our departmental vision along with several ways God has been working through it, President Bill Armstrong thanked me and said to the board members, "Doesn't that make you want to stand up and cheer!" Several members approached me later that evening to express their excitement for where God is taking CCU Athletics. It’s great to have our new president and many others so supportive of what our program stands for and what we are accomplishing.
