PUEBLO, Colo. (Jan. 17, 2019) - The Colorado State University-Pueblo men's basketball team begins a four-game Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference road trip Jan. 18-19 with Metro State University of Denver and Chadron State College. Friday's game at MSU Denver is set for a 7:30 p.m. start, as is Saturday's contest against the Eagles.
LAST TIME OUT
• CSU-Pueblo is 5-10 with a 3-6 RMAC record its second straight weekend going 1-1. The Pack were home for the first time in 2019 and won Friday against Western Colorado University by the score of 86-61, but fell 98-91 to Colorado Mesa University Saturday.
• The ThunderWolves shot 54 percent from the field in the win, which included a 60 percent effort in the second half, while the Mountaineers totaled 34.8 percent in the game with a 24.2 percent effort in the opening half. The Pack won the rebounding margin by a 42-40 advantage and bested Western with a 46-32 lead in the paint.
• Five players reached double digits in the points category with the leaders scoring 13. Redshirt-junior Donovan Oldham (G/F, Colorado Springs, Colo.) posted 13 points with four rebounds, while BJ Hardy(R-So., G, Colorado Springs, Colo.) produced 13 points in 14 minutes off the bench. He also added three rebounds and a team-high three steals.
• Center Jason Anderson (R-Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) was instrumental in building a 41-22 first half lead and scored 10 of his 12 points in those opening 20 minutes. He added a team-high six rebounds and dished out a team-best four assists.
• Starting point guard Tyson Gilbert (Fr., Highlands Ranch, Colo.) added 10 points, which was aided by a 5-for-5 performance from the free throw line. He totaled five rebounds with two steals. Finally, redshirt-freshman Dalen Jackson (G, Colorado Springs, Colo.) knocked down four of the team's nine 3-pointers (three in the second half) to total 12 points. He went 4-for-5 (80%) from long range and also contributed four rebounds and three assists.
• In the loss to CMU, the ThunderWolves knocked down 16 3-pointers, but it wasn't enough for the Mavericks' inside game where they totaled 56 points in the paint. The high percentage shots led to a 52.2 percent effort from the field, while the Pack ended the game shooting better from long range (48.5%) than from the field (46.8%).
• Both teams had small double-digit leads during the contest and just about split time with the advantage at 20:50 for the Mavericks and 17:28 for the ThunderWolves. Rebounds were also close at 39-33 in the favor of CMU. Turnovers hurt the Pack, as 18 miscues guided 28 points off turnovers for the road team. Colorado Mesa also made more free throws (25-for-31) than CSU-Pueblo attempted (17-for-23), although a large number of those came in the final minutes when the Pack were tying to claw back to a one-possession contest.
• Four players scored in double figures, with both the top scorers coming off the bench. Freshman Cade Carrol (F, Buena Vista, Colo.) dropped 20 points with five 3-pointers and added five rebounds with three steals. He shot 5-for-7 (71.4%) from long range and was 6-of-9 (66.7%) from the field.
• Jackson added 19 points, four rebounds and two assists. He hit three from beyond the arch and was 8-for-12 (66.7%) in the game.
• Oldham scored 16 points and brought down five rebounds with three assists and two blocks. Gavin Liggett (G, Limon, Colo.) went 8-for-8 from the charity stripe and added two 3-pointers to finish with 14 points. He also had three steals.
THE PACK
• The Pack are 2-4 on the road this season.
• CSU-Pueblo owns a 46.7 field goal percentage to rank fourth in the RMAC.
• The ThunderWolves have knocked down 9.3 3-pointers per game (140 total is third) this season to sit third in the conference.
• CSU-Pueblo owns 3.4 blocks per game to rank fifth in the league, while its 56 total blocks tied for second.
• The Pack are scoring 78.1 points per game, but allowing 82.1 points per contest this season.
• Redshirt-junior Donovan Oldham leads the team and ranks 13th in the RMAC with 15.4 points per game. His 86.3 percent shooting from the charity stripe is good for seventh in the conference.
• Redshirt-junior Jason Anderson is second on the team with 11.7 points per game. He is shooting 59.8 percent from the field. His 5.8 rebounds per game is a team best.
• Redshirt-senior Gavin Liggett is tied for eighth in 3-point field goals per game with 2.3. His 31 made 3-pointers is also seventh. He attempted 17 3-pointers at Westminster to have the most attempts in a game by a member of the RMAC this season. He hit eight of those 17 attempts.
• Junior Harvey Barr has 16 blocks this season to rank tied for ninth in the conference. His 1.1 blocks per game sits tied for ninth. His five blocks against Dixie State ranks tied for the most by an RMAC player this season.
• Sophomore Corey Seng recorded three straight double-doubles from Dec. 14-Jan. 4. In those three games he averaged 13 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, while shooting 48.3 percent from the field. He pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds against Colorado Christian, while his 17 points against Westminster was just shy of a career-high (18 points last season).
• Head Coach Ralph Turner is in his eighth season as bench boss of the Pack and owns a 114-95 (.545) overall record. He coached his 200th game as a member of the ThunderWolves Nov. 24 against Lubbock Christian.
THE ROADRUNNERS
• The Roadrunners are 6-7 overall with a 4-5 mark in league play that places them in a four-way tie for eighth. MSU Denver has lost three in a row (after winning five straight), which includes road losses at Dixie State (69-38) and Westminster (74-69) last weekend. The Roadrunners are 5-3 at home in 2018-19.
• MSU Denver is scoring 70.6 points per game, while allowing 73.1 points per contest.
• The team sits second in the league with 3.9 blocks per game. The Roadrunners are strong on the boards and rank third in the RMAC with a +3.4 rebounding margin. MSU Denver is fifth in the RMAC in fewest turnovers (183).
• Druce Asah leads the team and ranks ninth in the RMAC with 16.2 points per game. His 3.4 3-pointers per game is good for third in the conference, while his 38.3 percentage from long range is fourth. Asah has hit 41 3-pointers this season to rank third in the league.
• Kendall McIntosh is the RMAC leader in blocks per game with 1.7, while his 22 total blocks is tied for second. He is seventh in the conference with 2.1 offensive boards per contest. McIntosh is third on the team with 11.4 points per game. Garrett Carter adds 12.3 points per game and is fourth in the conference with 4.0 assists per game.
THE EAGLES
• The Eagles are 7-8 overall with a 5-4 RMAC record that has them in alone in seventh in the league standings. CSC went 1-1 last weekend in a tough road trip to Utah. They lost 93.86 in overtime against Westminster and then rallied to a 64-61 win against Dixie State. Chadron State is 5-3 at home this season.
• CSC has averaged 72.8 points per game and has allowed 74.1 points per contest. Chadron State is strong defensively, as it leads the league in 3-point field goal defense at 32.1 percent, while it ranks tied for third by allowing its opponent to shoot 43.7 percent from the field.
• The Eagles have three players averaging 12 points per game. Colby Jackson leads the way with 12.7 points per game and has 4.0 assists per game.
• Diontae Champion has 12.3 points per game and ranks fourth in steals per game with 1.8, while Michael Sparks adds 12.1 points per contest and sits tied for eighth in 3-pointers made per game with 2.3.
LOOKING AHEAD
• The ThunderWolves are on the road again Jan. 25-26 at South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State University.
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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.
