LAKEWOOD, Colo. – Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif./Tracy) had a date with destiny Saturday night.
 
The Metropolitan State University of Denver junior tied the school record by making nine 3-pointers, and his teammates chipped in another six from beyond the arc, in a 77-71 victory over Colorado Christian.
 
Asah hit 9 of 16 from long range, as he matched the school record of nine 3s set by Jeremy Ward against Arizona Bible on Dec. 2, 1995, and tied by Marquise Carrington against the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs on Feb. 14, 2009.
 
"It was great to see Druce shoot the ball so well," MSU Denver coach Michael Bahl said. "The team works so incredibly hard on getting extra shots, it was just a matter of time before we had a breakout game."
 
As a team the Roadrunners hit a season-high 15 3-pointers on a season-high 35 attempts. The 15 made 3s matched the program's most since MSU Denver made 16 at Chadron State on Jan. 31, 2008.
 
Meanwhile, Bahl picked up his 300^th MSU Denver victory as either a player (110), assistant (173) or head coach (17).
 
MSU Denver improved to 2-4 overall and is 1-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
"I couldn't be more proud of our team tonight," Bahl said. "We showed a lot of grit and toughness in a very tough environment. Winning is hard and you have to lose sometimes before you win, and I just couldn't be more proud of our team."
 
Asah hit 3 of 8 from long range in the first half, then drained two more in the opening two minutes of the second half as MSU Denver pushed the lead to 37-25.
 
Asah, known for being an excellent 3-point shooter during his two seasons at Cal State East Bay, was 6 of 8 from long range in the second half. His nine made 3s were one short of the 10 he had made through five games.
 
He scored 28 points in all.
 
While Asah was heating up, it took the Roadrunners only 20 minutes to match their previous season high of nine made 3-pointers, which they had gotten in a season-opening overtime loss to Stanislaus State (Calif.). Their season high for 3-point attempts had been 26, in the second game of the year against Northwestern Oklahoma State.
 
Asah got plenty of help as Garrett Carter (Rialto, Calif./Etiwanda) added 18 points while handing out seven assists. Marcus Jefferson (Lewisville, Texas/Lewisville) (2 for 4) and Jacob Inclan (Tucson, Ariz./Sunnyside) (2 for 5) led the supporting cast from beyond the 3-point line.
 
But Colorado Christian (2-7, 0-3) didn't give in despite falling behind by 12 early in the second half.
 
The Cougars used a 10-0 run to get within 42-41, but Asah hit a 3.
 
Asah hit another 3 to make it 53-46 with 9:19 left, and he got his ninth with 6:19 to go, making it 61-51. When Kendall McIntosh's (Oakley, Calif./Freedom) resounding dunk matched the Roadrunners' biggest lead of the game at 66-53 with 3:59 left, they appeared to be in complete control again.
 
But back came the Cougars, with a 10-2 run to close it to 68-63 with 1:10 left. A Stefan Hackenthal 3 got CCU within one possession, at 69-66, with 54 seconds left.
 
But Elijah Straughter (Fresno, Calif./Clovis North) (2 for 2), Inclan (2 for 4), Jefferson (2 for 2) and Carter (2 for 2) made enough free throws from that point forward to keep the Roadurnners in front, even though Colorado Christian cut the margin to three points three more times.