COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Dec. 10, 2020) – The Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team fell 83-67 in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference road game at University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Thursday in Colorado Springs. 
 
The ThunderWolves (0-2, 0-2 RMAC) didn't lead in the game for the second straight night. The Mountain Lions (1-1, 1-1 RMAC) jumped out to an 11-0 advantage to start the contest and road team would never fully recover.
 
From Coach Hammer
 
"The big difference tonight was the physicality that both teams played with," said CSU Pueblo Head Men's Basketball Coach Matt Hammer. "UCCS did a great job. Every chance they had to set a screen, they set a good screen, and every time they had a chance to crash the glass, they did it. And we just didn't quite match it as well as we needed to."

"Whether or not shots are falling we still need to find ways to win, to find ways to score, to get to the rim and get to the free throw line. Tonight I felt we didn't quite do a good enough job trusting each other and trying to work together. We have a lot of good pieces, but we just have to keep getting experience and playing hard. We need to get back to practice and get to work."
 
Stat Leaders
 
Guard Tre Brown (R-Jr., Tacoma, Wash.) led all scorers with 20 points. Guard David Simental (R-Jr., Pueblo West, Colo.) added 15 points. 
 
Forward De'Shaun Cooper (Fr., Poway, Calif.) scored in double figures for the first time in his early collegiate career with 12 points.  
 
Summary
 
UCCS leaped out to an 11-0 lead during the first five minutes of the game. The Pack finally got on the board with 14:37 showing on the game clock on a Simental layup. The bucket jump-started the ThunderWolves, as they went on a 9-3 run to cut the deficit to just five at 14-9 with 11:22 left in the first half. 
 
Five would be as close as the ThunderWolves would get, as the Mountain Lions reestablished their double-digit advantage and would own a lead as large as 23 during the first half before the score settled at 43-22 at the break. 
 
The Pack shot 36 percent in the first half, compared to UCCS's 51.6 percent. The road team failed to hit a 3-pointer (0-7), while the Mountain Lions hit 5-of-8 (62.5%) from long range. 
 
 CSU Pueblo won the second half 45-40, but the first half deficit proved too large to overcome. 
 
The ThunderWolves finished the game shooting 44.1 percent from the field, but only hit 3-of-17 attempts from long range. UCCS shot 47.5 percent from the field and went 9-for-18 (50%) from 3-point land. The Pack forced 14 Mountain Lion turnovers, while seven of the eight ThunderWolves turnovers came in the first half. 
 
Up Next
 
The ThunderWolves will compete in an exhibition game at Colorado State University Saturday, Dec. 12. Tipoff in Fort Collins, Colorado is 2 p.m. No fans will be allowed at the game.

-- PACK --