Colorado College has had so many nights this season when the Tigers felt like they played well, but some bit of adversity went against them.

The Tigers got a bounce they desperately needed Friday night.

Sophomore defenseman Brady Cleveland scored with 3:43 remaining in the third period, and the sixth-seeded Tigers knocked off third-seeded University of Denver, 3-1, in Game 1 of a best-of-three NCHC conference tournament series Friday night at Magness Arena.

“You’re just really proud of (Cleveland),” CC coach Kris Mayotte said. “He’s come in here and worked his tail off and continued to get better. You need your big boys to be big boys in these moments, but you also need your unsung heroes to kind of rise up and get something like that for us.”

Kaidan Mbereko was fantastic in net for the Tigers, turning aside 32 shots. Matt Davis, who put together a historic postseason a year ago and led DU to its NCAA-record 10th national championship, had a strong night as well with 20 saves.

Cleveland’s shot from the top of the zone broke a DU player’s stick and re-directed into the Pioneers net to give CC its first lead of the game. It was also the first goal of Cleveland’s NCAA career, in his 52nd game.

“It’s something pretty special,” said Cleveland, who transferred from Wisconsin after his freshman season. “I think about all the extra reps and all the stuff people don’t see behind the scenes that led up to this moment. It’s pretty special knowing the hard work finally pays off. It’s something I’ll remember the rest of the my life.”

Ty Gallagher scored 32 seconds into a 5-on-3 for the Tigers to bring CC level early in the third period. DU’s Rieger Lorenz had a shorthanded chance, but barreled into Mbereko and was called for charging. It was Gallagher’s seventh goal of the season, which leads the CC defense corps.

Jack Devine gave the Pios the lead at 13:38 of the second period on a goal mouth scramble shortly after an offensive-zone faceoff. It was Devine’s 13th goal and team-leading 51st point of the season.

The Pios had a faceoff in the CC end in part because Tigers forward Gleb Veremyev was laying on the ice in pain at the other end. When DU transitioned the puck out of the defensive zone and away from Veremyev, the officials let play continue — much to the chagrin of a very animated Mayotte.

Junior center Noah Laba added an empty-netter for the Tigers in the final minute.

Despite allowing the only goal, the Tigers were much better in the middle period. Davis had very little to do in the first period, but needed to make several saves on shots from the slot in the second.

Mbereko kept the Tigers afloat despite a hot start from the Pioneers. Denver had the first 12 shots on goal of the game, and it took more than 10 minutes for CC to get its first shot on Davis.

“Unbelievable performance,” Laba said. “We know he has always has that in him. For him to go out there and show out in a big game is huge. We’re going to need him from here on out.”

DU retained the Gold Pan for the sixth straight season, winning three of the four regular-season matchups. Three of the games were tied in the third period, and the other ended up a one-goal contest.

Both of these teams got off to great starts to this season. The Pioneers set a program record by winning their first 12 games, spending eight weeks at No. 1 in both major polls. The Tigers won eight straight at the start, climbing as high as No. 8 in the national rankings.

Colorado College stumbled through January, losing seven of nine at one point, and the Tigers’ only path to an NCAA tournament bid is winning this series, then winning twice next weekend at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul, Minn.

DU entered this weekend at No. 9 in the Pairwise rankings, solidly in the NCAA field of 16, but what seed the Pios land is still to be determined.

Game 2 of this series is Saturday night at Magness, with Game 3 on Sunday evening if necessary.

“We know what they’re going to do, and they obviously know what we’re going to do,” Cleveland said. “It just comes down to who’s going to perform better. We came out on top, and we’re going to do it again.”

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Originally Published: March 14, 2025 at 9:57 PM MDT

When Tate Anderson’s daughter needed a loan for a couple thousand dollars to help buy a car in February, the Englewood woman went online and stumbled on a loan that her father couldn’t believe. It carried an interest rate of 581%.

“I can’t be everyone’s dad, but this can’t happen to people,” said Anderson. “It’s so awful.”

Anderson, who has been a mortgage broker for 30 years and is familiar with the lending world, thought it was illegal to charge that much interest in Colorado. His daughter signed up for a $2,000 loan with an online lender called WithU Loans. The payment schedule called for her to pay more than $800 per month for nine months amounting to $6,370.19 in interest and a 581% interest rate for her $2,000 loan, according to loan documents reviewed by CBS News Colorado.

“I was shocked, needless to say”, Anderson told CBS News Colorado.

“They get away with lending murder,” he said.

Anderson told his daughter “to call them and tell them to pound sand.”

How could a loan like that be offered in Colorado, where state laws have capped interest rates at less than 40% for years?

Anderson and his daughter didn’t know that WithU Loans was an online lender owned and operated by the Otoe-Missouria tribe of Indians, and Indian tribes in the U.S. are generally exempt from state laws that prohibit exorbitant interest rates. What they are doing is perfectly legal.

“This is something that is baked into our Constitutional system,” explained Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.

“If you are a tribe and acting as a tribal entity you aren’t subject to the regulations of the state,” said Weiser.

Tribal loans, as they are called, are exempt from state laws as native American tribes have tribal sovereignty, legal standing that makes them immune from state statutes.

“When tribes operate businesses,” said Weiser, “they are operating outside of Colorado law because of their sovereignty.”

While Anderson’s daughter only dealt with WithU Loans, tribal lenders have proliferated online, offering installment loans that one tribal lender calls “an expensive form of credit.”

A spokesperson for WithU loans provided a written statement about offering high interest loans in Colorado saying, “People turn to online lending when they can’t find the financial options they need locally, or because they prefer to do business online. The internet connects them to services — including those offered by Native American Tribes from Tribal Lands under Tribal law.” He said, “Our terms are clear…”

Dr. Katherine Spilde, a California-based professor who specializes in American Indian economic development, said tribal loans provide geographically isolated tribal nations with revenue needed for housing, education, health care and law enforcement. She said, “I do think it’s a win-win, especially when you think what the tribes are using it for.” Asked about the soaring interest rates, she said, “Online lending in general doesn’t create financial fragility, it reveals it. These consumers need help, they need a partner they can count on,” said Spilde.

The online review platform Trustpilot said 71% of WithU Loans reviewers gave the service a five star review while 18% gave it one star.

“The interest is so evil,” wrote one reviewer this month. “You are flat out robbing people who need help. You should be absolutely ashamed of your greed.”

The Better Business Bureau in Oklahoma City has given WithU Loans an F grade, with the BBB saying it has received 343 complaints against the lender.

In 2022, one Colorado resident filed a complaint with the federal Consumer Financial Protection bureau about an unnamed tribal lender. He said he took out a tribal loan that carried a 447% interest rate.

“If this is not predatory lending then I don’t know what is. Put a stop to this,” said the resident.

Weiser said consumers need to do their research.

“With so many online lenders, it’s tricky out there. It’s easy to go into a product without understanding it,” said Weiser. “Consumers have choices. They should think hard about what’s best for them.”

Tate Anderson said he was able to quickly intervene in his daughter’s case and cancel the loan.

“Because I’m not going to let anyone rip my daughter off,” said Anderson.

He said after cancelling her loan, he lent his daughter the money for her new car.

While Weiser indicated there is not much the state can do about tribal lenders themselves, in 2023, his office reached a settlement with a collection agency — TrueAccord — which was licensed in Colorado and had been collecting debt from Colorado consumers stemming from tribal loans they had defaulted on. The settlement agreement says from 2017 through 2022, TrueAccord collected or attempted to collect from 28,728 Colorado consumers who had defaulted on their tribal loans. Some of the loans had interest rates nearing 900%, according to the settlement agreement.

TrueAccord denied any allegations of wrongdoing but stopped collecting on tribal loans in Colorado and agreed to pay the state $500,000.

Residents in one Highlands Ranch neighborhood are feeling frustrated and scared following a series of home break-ins that happened last week. Investigators in Douglas County believe the suspects used Wi-Fi jammers to disrupt home security systems and cameras. 

“This is just not acceptable to us,” said Steve Pomeroy.

Pomeroy lives just blocks away from where three suspected burglaries took place. He and his wife have already taken proactive measures.

“We’ve had a security system, but we just put a ring on the house just a couple days after,” he said. “We just installed it Sunday night, just a couple days after this had happened here.”

Detectives with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office believe in these three burglaries the suspects involved were using a Wi-Fi jammer to disable security systems and knew when the homeowners would be gone.

“Bottom line, when you have something that’s wireless, it’s going to be jammable,” said Will Martinez.

Martinez owns BW Tech Security. He’s been helping install security systems for both commercial and residential homes for the last 15 years through his company. Many more people may be switching to purchasing do-it-yourself security systems, like Wi-Fi doorbell cameras, but it is those types of products that put homeowners in a more vulnerable position of having their security disabled.

“If you have no choice but to use wireless, you want to make sure you get something that has jam detection features, so if the device is used, the panel can send a signal out saying it’s being jammed,” said Martinez.

For greater protection, he says it is important residents consider simply getting a professional to install hard-wired cameras, which are less likely to be tampered with.

“From point A to point B, you have a cable that connects the device,” he said.

While police continue to investigate this string of burglaries, homeowners like Pomeroy remain vigilant.

“It’s just more than a little scary, but we’re going to get through it and be safe, and be more watchful in our neighborhood,” said Pomeroy.

Deputies said the thieves appear to be after high-end jewelry and targeting homes along the greenbelt. 

The sheriff’s office encouraged anyone with information on these burglaries to contact the Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-917-STOP (7867).

They also asked residents to stay observant of any suspicious activity and report it to their non-emergency line at 303-660-7500, or 911 if it’s urgent.