Fighting Cacti overcome slow start to earn conference opening win.

The Copper Mountain College Men's Basketball team opened IEAC conference play in dramatic fashion, battling past College of the Desert for a hard-fought 64–62 victory on Saturday.

The Fighting Cacti appeared sluggish out of the gate, trailing for much of the first half as the COD Roadrunners caught fire from long range. Desert knocked down shots at a 47 percent clip from beyond the arc to build a 41–32 advantage heading into halftime.

The second half, however, told a much different story.

Copper Mountain turned up its trademark defensive pressure, completely flipping the momentum of the game. The Cacti clamped down on the perimeter, holding COD to just 10 percent shooting from three-point range after the break.

Sophomore guard Tyrece Rose led the charge, pouring in a game-high 24 points while shooting 6-for-11 from beyond the arc. Rose also dished out six assists, igniting the offense when the Cacti needed it most.

This win was truly a total team effort, highlighted by timely defensive plays down the stretch. Jefur Deng came up with a massive block in crunch time, while Hunter Wilcox sprinted the length of the court to deny what would have been a game-changing layup, preserving the narrow lead.