PUEBLO, Colo. (Nov. 19, 2021) – The Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team put on a show in their home-opener to secure a 114-62 win over Spurgeon College on Friday night at the Al Kaly Classic.
 
The Pack jumped out to an early 14-2 lead after Lian Ramiro (Fr., Aurora, Colo.) knocked down a triple from deep just three and a half minutes into the game. Ramiro later found Meekness Payne (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.) spotted up in the corner who would knock down back-to-back threes to spark a 10-1 run for the Pack to extend their lead to 29-10 with 12:48 remaining in the first half.
 
Tristan Hurdle (Fr., Highlands Ranch, Colo.) later knocked down three 3's to extend the Pack lead to 48-16 with 7:16 remaining in the first half. Hurdle had himself a stellar first half as the freshman tabbed 24 points after going 9 for 12 from the field and 6 for 9 from three-point territory. Payne also shot the lights out in the first half as he finished a perfect 3 for 3 from deep on the first half with 15 points and 4 rebounds.
 
The ThunderWolves finished the first half shooting 64% from the field and 60% from deep while holding the Knights to 11-32 shooting and 4 for 12 from three and went to the locker room with a 68-28 advantage.
 
The second half was a spitting image of the first, as the Pack never let off the gas pedal. The ThunderWolves dominated inside the paint, scoring 30 of their 56 points in the paint in the second half and holding the Knights to 19 total rebounds in the half.
 
The ThunderWolves finished the night going 45-73 from the field which included 15-29 (51.7%) from three, the ThunderWolves highest 3-point shooting percentage since February 13, 2021 against Westminster when the Pack went 14-27 (51.9%) from deep.
 
The ThunderWolves grabbed 44 total rebounds which included 8 offensive while holding the Knights to 32 on the night. The Pack played exceptional defense throughout the game, recording 12 steals and 6 blocks and were able to capitalize off those mistakes by scoring 29 points off turnovers.
 
Hurdle finished the night with a career-high 26 points off six 3-pointers, 2 blocks and a steal while Payne added 22 points, 6 rebounds, and a steal. Freshman Lian Ramiro was next in scoring for the Pack, finishing the night with 18 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds.
 
The dominant presence in the paint was started by Elijah Moleon (Jr., Killeen, Tex.) who finished the game with 6 points and 6 rebounds while Isaiah Thompson (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) stepped in to notch his first career double-double with 15 points and 17 rebounds in 34 minutes off the bench.
 
The ThunderWolves will conclude day 2 of the Al Kaly Classic tonight against Bacone College with tip off set for 7 pm at Massari Arena.