No. 12 Metro State 87, CSU-Pueblo 72
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - The ThunderWolves remained unable to
solve conference foe Metro State Friday, falling to the Roadrunners
87-72 at the Clarion Inn Classic at Mesa State College in Grand
Junction.
The ThunderWolves couldn't keep up with the Roadrunners
offensively, who hit 55 percent of their shots from the floor,
compared to a healthy but inadequate 45 percent from the floor for
the Pack. Metro State only recorded two three-pointers,
getting most of their points on high-percentage shots in the
paint. Leading the charge for the Roadrunners was a 27-point
effort by Reggie Evans
The ThunderWolves started fast, taking a 14-4 lead on the
Roadrunners to open the first half. But Metro State went on
an 11-0 run to take a 15-14 lead, and failed to hold anything more
than a two-point lead for the remainder of the game.
Pack guards Donell Wells (Jr.,
Denver, Colo.) and Roman Van Allen
(Sr., Los Angeles, Calif.), each of which were 0-for last
week in the Pack's season-opening win over UC-San Diego, provided
the bulk of the Pack's offense against Metro State. Van Allen
turned in a team-leading 18 points, sinking three three-pointers
while Wells added 10 points. Chris Busch (Sr.,
Oakland, Calif.) also put up 16 points and Marc Williams
(Sr., Seattle, Wash.) added 11.
But the key to Metro State's win was in its relatively
mistake-free play, cutting off the Pack's strength of transition
defense. After forcing 17 steals last week, the Pack only
forced two steals against the Roadrunners. Overall, Metro
State committed just 11 turnovers.
CSU-Pueblo's loss marks the 13th straight loss to Metro State,
dating back to 1998. The ThunderWolves' losing streak to the
Roadrunners is their longest against any team in the RMAC.
CSU-Pueblo, now 1-1 on the young season, will close out the
Clarion Inn Classic Saturday when they take on NAIA power Central
Methodist.