With time running down and every eye in the packed field house focused squarely on CCU guard
Joey Stenberg, the senior stepped up and calmly drained two free throws propelling the Cougars to victory - two nights in a row.
Just a few short days before, the reserve guard was notified that he would be the newest addition to the starting lineup, thanks to an injury to the already depleted Cougar backcourt. Prior to this season, Joey had competed in 25 games, averaging a slight 11.5 minutes per outing and had yet to make an appearance in the first five.
The move paid off for the men Friday night versus Western New Mexico University. With the Cougars defending a one point lead, the 6'1" Stenberg somehow out-muscled the New Mexico big men for a tough rebound, while drawing a foul that sent him to the charity stripe to ice the game with eight tenths of a second remaining.
The following evening, the Cougars trailed by two points to New Mexico Highlands University and once again Stenberg found himself in the spotlight. With 10 seconds to go, Stenberg came out of nowhere to rebound a CCU three point attempt and once again his crafty play resulted in a trip to the free throw line. This time the Cougars needed two points to send the contest into overtime, and with the pressure of the game squarely on his shoulders, Joey delivered. The men went on to outscore the Cowboys 15-3 in an extended period that would have not been possible without the blue collar efforts of the standout guard who finished the weekend with a combined 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
In addition to his recent on-court success, Joey Stenberg's usual platform for achievement is in the classroom. As an RMAC academic all-conference nominee, he has maintained a 4.0 grade point average throughout his collegiate career, has studied abroad in Oxford and in Spain and has served as editor and chief of the student newspaper. Joey also founded an organization known as the CCU Circle, which publishes undergraduate essays; he performed an internship with US Senator Chuck Hagel, and most notably was the Colorado Christian University 2006 Valedictorian.