COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 15, 2019) - The Colorado State University-Pueblo men's basketball team suffered a 97-84 setback Friday in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game at University of Colorado Colorado Springs. 

The ThunderWolves (6-18, 4-14 RMAC) outshot the Mountain Lions (15-9, 12-6 RMAC) with a 41.4 percentage to the home team's 38.6 percent. Both teams shot in the mid 80's from the free throw line, but UCCS ended the game with nearly double the attempts, as its went 30-for-35 to the Pack's 16-for-19 effort. The Mountain Lions edged the Pack in rebounds 44-43 and forced 15 CSU-Pueblo turnovers that translated into 22 points off turnovers. 

Center Jason Anderson (R-Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) played in 30 minutes and totaled a team-high 21 points with seven rebounds and three assists. Jordan Phillips (R-So., G/F, Colorado Springs, Colo.) added 16 points with a team-best eight rebounds in 29 minutes before fouling out. Donovan Oldham (R-Jr., G/F, Colorado Springs, Colo.) added 11 points with six rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Freshman Cade Carrol (G/F, Highlands Ranch, Colo.) came off the bench and provided 11 points with three rebounds. 

It was a competitive first 20 minutes, as there were four lead changes and another four occasions when the teams were tied. UCCS jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first two minutes, but the Pack battled back and produced an 11-0 run to lead 14-10. The run saw the Mountain Lions fail to score for three and an half minutes of game time. During the stretch, four different players scored, while Phillips totaled five points. 

UCCS won the next five minutes and were leading 26-21 with 9:02 remaining in the opening half. Keeping with the trend, it was the Pack's turn on the momentum swing, as the road team rattled off a 13-3 run to open what would be their largest lead of the game, 34-29 with 5:01 remaining. Anderson took over during that time and totaled nine points, which included both his 3-pointers in the game. 

CSU-Pueblo was able to maintain a one-possession lead during the final five minutes, but UCCS would own the halftime lead as a pair of free throws with 50 ticks left game the Mountain Lions a 40-39 lead at the break. The Pack held UCCS to just 29.7 percent from the field in the first half, while producing a 44.1 percent effort. The Mountain Lions were aided by a 12-for-13 performance from the line and totaled 11 points off six CSU-Pueblo miscues. 

UCCS came out firing in the second half and built an eight point lead at 51-43 with 16:33 left in the half. The Mountain Lion advantage went to nine at 54-45, but the ThunderWolves wouldn't quit and grabbed an 8-0 run, which was capped by an old-fashioned three-point play by Oldham. The deficit was just three at 59-56, but UCCS produced a 10-0 run that would hand the home team a 69-56 advantage with 10:28 remaining. 

The run would be good enough to keep the Pack at bay, as UCCS won by 13, 97-84. 

CSU-Pueblo will head up to Golden, Colorado Saturday for a matchup with the No. 11 Colorado School of Mines beginning at 6 p.m.

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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.