DURANGO, Colo. (February 13, 2015) – In convincing fashion, the Colorado State University-Pueblo men's basketball team took down Fort Lewis College 83-59 in a battle between two top-five Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foes Saturday in Durango, Colorado.
The ThunderWolves have now won five straight games to improve to 12-5 in the RMAC and 16-7 overall, and moves into a fourth-place tie with the Skyhawks (12-5 RMAC, 17-6 overall) in the conference standings.
Freshman Will Newman (G, Lawndale, Calif.) came off the bench and posted a career-high 18 points in 23 minutes to lead the Pack in scoring. He shot 7-of-11 from the floor and also collected a career-high seven rebounds. Three other players for the ThunderWolves scored in double-figures, as senior Jed Knafelc (G, Highlands Ranch, Colo.) added 13 points. Senior Tyrone Marshall (C, Denver, Colo.) totaled 14 points, while sophomore Stephen Radakovic (F, Belgrade, Serbia) pitched in 12 points, the eighth-time he's scored in double figures this season.
The ThunderWolves connected on 12-of-22 attempts from long range to shoot 54.5 percent, while the Skyhawks totaled just three buckets from downtown and shot 21.4 percent. Overall, the Pack shot 44.6 percent from the field, which included a 48.1 percent effort in the second half alone.
Defensively, CSU-Pueblo's pressure caused the Fort Lewis offense to turn the ball over 18 times, the Pack as a team had 12 steals. Junior Rico Spikes (G, Merriville, Ind.) led the ThunderWolves with three steals and three others had two steals each. The Pack also out-rebounded the Skyhawks 38-31, as junior Bronson Moton (F, Aurora, Colo.) led them with 10.
Just before the halftime buzzer, CSU-Pueblo trailed 34-29 after an Alex Herrera jump shot to face their largest deficit of the game with 3:22 left. After that, the Pack closed the frame on an 8-2 run to take a 37-36 lead into the locker room. Knafelc helped spark the run as he scored the first five points of the stretch.
The ThunderWolves would continue their hot shooting into the second half as they made five of their first 10 shots, extending their run to 23-5. They would outscore the Skyhawks 46-25 in the second.
Newman led the Pack with 10 of his 18 points in the final 20 minutes.
Saturday, CSU-Pueblo continues their two-game road trip as it will travel to take on Adams State University with another RMAC battle at 7:30 p.m. in Alamosa.
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Colorado State University – Pueblo competes in 22 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
