Nothing seemed to be going right for The Colorado Springs Christian School on Senior Night. 

“Tonight was probably the night we shot the worst the whole year,” boys basketball senior Maximiliano Corta-Cordova said. “We shot horribly. We are never going to shoot that badly ever again.”

The Lions’ shooting woes and a stout defense by The Vanguard School led to the Coursers taking down host CSCS 57-53 on Wednesday night. It’s the Lions’ first loss at home this season, and their 57 points are well below their average of 69.6 points.  

“Throughout the game, it was close, but it was only close because of all the mistakes we were making,” Courser senior Matty Dessalegn said. “We knew if we limited our mistakes, we would win this game, and that’s what we did. We beat them up inside and defensively held our own, and when we needed shots, we made them.”

Vanguard (13-5, 8-3 league) limited CSCS top-scorer Corta-Cordova to 20 points, which is below his season average of 25.3 (No. 10 in Colorado). Vanguard senior Josh Alade led the Coursers with 22 points, including two 3-pointers. 

“We just wanted to limit (Corta-Cordova), we knew we wouldn’t stop him,” Vanguard coach Joe Wetters said. “He’s an absolute great player in our league. He’s all business. We have a ton of respect for him; he plays basketball the right way. He is a top player in the league, if not top.”

The Coursers trailed 18-8 after the first quarter, but quickly slowed down the Lions (15-5, 10-2) in the second quarter to limit CSCS to just seven points. Still, the Lions held onto a 25-24 lead at halftime and maintained a 44-41 edge after three quarters. 

Vanguard came into the fourth with vengeance to take back the lead early and held off the Lions for their fifth-straight win and fourth-straight over CSCS in four years. The Lions finished 1 for 17 from the 3-point line and 12 for 21 from the free-throw line to break a four-game win streak. 

“In the first quarter, we tried to be offensively oriented, and that didn’t work, so we turned it around,” Dessalegn said. “Our defense is going to take us as far as we want to go, so we just need to focus on that, and that’s what we did.  When we feel like playing defense, we can stop anyone in 3A.” 

“We said tonight would be a battle against a great team,” Wetters said. “Coach (Tanner) Johnson has made that program back into the powerhouse it once was for so many decades. We knew it would take a 100% effort from everyone to be competitive with them. The boys rose to the occasion and played hard.”

The win comes from a season of growth for a young Coursers team that has six sophomores and two seniors. Ever since a 53-50 win over Lamar in early February, the team has found its groove and hasn’t lost since. 

“We lost a couple of games in the early part of the season we don’t normally lose, but it sparked some good practice and good competition over the last three weeks,” Wetters said. “We’ve been challenging the boys to improve and get us back into a position we want to be, which is top of the league.”

CSCS is third in the 4A/3A Tri-Peaks league after Wednesday’s loss, while the Coursers sit in fifth. The Lions will play league-leader Banning Lewis (11-0) on Saturday. 

While Cota-Cordova is disappointed in the outcome, he feels thankful for the two years he has had at CSCS and the opportunity to play in one last home game with the Lions. 

“First of all, props to Vanguard, they played a good game,” Cota-Cordova said. “Tonight is such a bummer we ended like that, but I feel so blessed, so thankful. God kept me healthy throughout the year, and it was just a fun night. I feel so blessed for my coaches, teammates, and parents. It’s been such a fun journey, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”