RMAC Shootout Quarterfinal: CSU-Pueblo 73, No. 23 Mesa State 65

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - CSU-Pueblo's men's basketball team did something special Tuesday night.

The ThunderWolves did something no team in RMAC history has done - claimed road playoff wins in back-to-back seasons against the same team, upsetting the 23rd-ranked Mesa State Mavericks on their home court, 73-65, earning a trip to the RMAC Shootout, taking place conveniently enough at the Colorado State Fair Events Center in Pueblo.

CSU-Pueblo used a 20-7 run in the second half, breaking up a back-and-forth affair, and turning a 44-41 Mesa State at the 15:30 mark of the second half into a 61-51 ThunderWolf lead at the 5:55 mark, leaving the ThunderWolves very close to claiming the win.

But Mesa State, fielding perhaps its best team in school history, didn't go quietly into the night.  Trailing 65-55, Mesa State embarked on a 10-2 run to get within two at the 1:03 mark. 

But on the next possession, Marc Williams (Sr., Seattle, Wash.) came through with a huge layup at the 37-second mark, making it a two possession game and forcing the Mavericks to foul, clearing the way for the Pack's eight-point win.

"We played hard tonight and stayed focused," Pack coach Pat Eberhart said.  "We needed to play 40 minutes and never gave in and that's what we did."

One small move really opened up the game for the ThunderWolves, Eberhart said.  The Pack's 6-foot-8 reserve post, Matt Fochtman (Jr., Millbrae, Calif.) moved well in the paint and made great moves early on, causing the Mavericks to make the decision to guard Fochtman down low and force the Pack shooters to beat them deep - something the Pack was able to do.

Roman Van Allen (Sr., Los Angeles, Calif.) had a career-high night, netting 24 points on 9-for-14 shooting, and Williams added 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting.  Fochtman, the focus of Mesa State's guarding, ultimately ended with just one point. 

With the win, the ThunderWolves scored road wins in back-to-back seasons for just the second team in RMAC history, matching the feat of another ThunderWolf squad, Joe Folda's 1997 and 1998 teams, which earned back-to-back road wins during those seasons.  CSU-Pueblo's win also marks the first time since the ThunderWolves' 1998 playoff victory over Metro State that the Pack had defeated a top-25 team, snapping a 22-game losing streak against ranked opponents.

CSU-Pueblo will return to Pueblo, albeit the "neutral court" of the Colorado State Fair Events Center, where it will face the team that bounced the ThunderWolves from the RMAC Shootout last season in RMAC East Division champions, Metro State.  The Pack men will tip off at 1 p.m. Friday.