By Jason Cowan

PUEBLO, Colo. (GoThunderwolves.com - Feb. 28, 2014) - Whenever the No. 1 team in the nation comes into town, the energy can at the gym always be a little different. Especially when it is a close game late.

"It was a good atmosphere," said CSU-Pueblo head coach Ralph Turner. "In the second half, when we finally made it a game, I thought that the crowd got into it; it got really exciting, I thought the gym was rocking a little bit."

After trailing by 20 points at the half, the ThunderWolves pulled within five points when Stevan Radakovic (Fr. Belgrade, Serbia) got an offensive rebound and missed a 5-foot contested jump shot that would have made it a three point game with a little more than two minutes left.

"I thought Stevan should have took the ball up stronger, that should be one that you got to take it up so strong that it's obvious they foul you, you get an and one," Turner said.

The ThunderWolves went into the half trailing 51-31, after shooting only 33 percent in the first half. However, in the second half, the ThunderWolves went on a 22-11 run to begin the period.

"At halftime, we had a heart to heart talk about character, commitment and doing the things we practiced and if you really want to be a playoff team, you got to beat teams that get to the playoffs," Turner said. "Metro is the standard that every team in the league is measured by." 

After shooting 50 percent from the field in the first half, the ThunderWolves held the Roadrunners to 32 percent shooting from the field in the second half, contributing to the late second half surge.

"I just thought we guarded better," Turner said. "I thought we guarded and I thought we played hard defensively."

The ThunderWolves will wrap up the regular season when they face Regis on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

"That's a tough, tough game. One of the most improved teams in the league," Turner said. "They're playing a lot of really good teams close."