PUEBLO, Colo. (Nov. 27, 2019) – The Colorado State University-Pueblo men's basketball team closes out the nonconference portion of its schedule Nov. 29-30 at the Emerald Beach Thanksgiving Tournament in Kingsville, Texas. The ThunderWolves will play two teams from the Lone Star Conference, as the Pack battle host Texas A&M University-Kingsville Friday at 6 p.m. (MST) and Angelo State University Saturday at 2 p.m. (MST).
THE PACK
• The ThunderWolves are 2-2 to start the season under first-year head coach
Matt Hammer. The Pack began the season with a pair of home wins Nov. 8-9. CSU-Pueblo defeated Cameron, 92-69 and MSU Texas, 69-64. On the road last weekend in Aberdeen, S.D. The ThunderWolves fell to Northern State, 95-73 and Sioux Falls, 77-70.
• Six different players are averaging 10 or more points per game and five different players have at least four rebounds per contest.
• Senior guard
Brandon McGhee leads the team with 15.5 points per game and is shooting 56.8 percent from the field (8th in the RMAC). He leads the team with 4.0 assists per game (T-8th in the league) and adds 4.8 rebounds per contest.
• Freshman forward
Jaedon Bowles has produced 12.3 points per game off the bench. He has a team-high 10 3-pointers. He is shooting 47.6 percent from long range to sit 6th in the conference.
• Senior forward
Donovan Oldham leads the team and ranks T-7th in the RMAC in rebounding with 7.3 boards per game. He adds 10 points per game.
• Junior center
Marc Syle has a team-high four blocks, while his 1.0 blocks per game is good for T-7th in the RMAC.
• Sophomore guard
David Simental has a team-best seven steals, as his 1.8 steals per game ranks T-6th in the conference.
• The Pack are shooting 41.9 percent from 3-point land to sit 3rd in the RMAC. The team is 36-of-86 to average 9.0 made 3-pointers per game.
• CSU-Pueblo ranks 3rd in the league in blocks with 4.0 swats per game. The ThunderWolves are 5th in steals with 7.5 takeaways per game.
• The ThunderWolves were picked to finish 12th in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Pack are coming off a season where they went 6-22 overall and 4-18 in conference play to finish tied for 14th in the league standings.
THE JAVELINAS
• The Javelinas and ThunderWolves have met three times since 2013 with TAMUK winning all three. In the last meeting in Pueblo in 2017, the Javelinas won 82-64.
• The Javelinas are 4-2 overall and 2-0 in Lone Star Conference play. Three of the four wins have come by a one-point margin, with two of them against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams in South Dakota Mines (70-69) and Chadron State (67-66).
• TAMUK was selected to finish 10th in the Lone Star preseason poll.
• Rashon Thomas is the only player scoring in double figures, as he leads the team with 11.8 points per game and adds a team-best 12 3-pointers.
• Texas A&M-Kingsville averages 66.8 points per game and is allowing 69.7 points per contest.
• The Javelinas are 4th in the conference with a +5.83 turnover margin. The team owns a 1.3 rebounding margin, which is good for 5th in the LSC.
THE RAMS
• The contest will be the first between the ThunderWolves and Rams.
• Angelo State was selected to finish fifth in the Lone Star preseason poll.
• The Rams are 3-0 overall and 1-0 in LSC play. ASU used overtime in its opener Nov. 15 to defeat Sonoma State (82-78). Angelo State has wins over San Francisco State (88-68) and Lubbock Christian (73-63).
• Three players are scoring in double figures, guided by Ronald Bell, who owns 20.3 points per game to rank 6th in the Lone Star. He also has 6.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 50 percent from the field with nine 3-pointers.
• Andres Ibarguen has 9.0 points and a team-best 9.0 rebounds per game. His rebounding average is good for 2nd in the conference.
• With 81 points per game, ASU is 5th in the league. The Rams have 9.3 3-pointers per game to sit T-4th in the LSC.
• ASU leads the Lone Star with a +7.7 rebounding margin.
NEXT UP
The ThunderWolves begin RMAC play on the road Dec. 6-7 at Adams State University and Fort Lewis College.
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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.
