SALT LAKE CITY (Dec. 16, 2021) – Tristan Hurdle (Fr., Highlands Ranch, Colo.) hits a go-ahead bucket with 33 seconds remaining to give Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team a 78-77 RMAC win over Westminster on the road on Thursday evening.
 
Micah Lamberth (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) connected on his first 3-pointer of the night early in the first quarter that gave the ThunderWolves their first lead at 7-6. The Griffins quickly regained the lead the next play, but Lamberth came up with a steal and was fouled on the layup before knocking down both free-throws to give the Pack a 9-8 lead.
 
With the game tied at 15 points apiece, the Pack managed a 9-2 run as Lian Ramiro (Fr., Aurora, Colo.) drove the baseline and found Elijah Moleon (Jr., Killeen, Texas) in the middle of the paint who finished with a massive one-handed dunk that gave the ThunderWolves a 24-17 lead with 8:19 to go in the first half.
 
Out of a timeout, the Griffins nailed a 3-pointer to cut the deficit, but Meekness Payne (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.) answered with a three of his own followed by a steal and a layup from Ramiro gave the Pack a 31-22 lead with 6 minutes left in the half.
 
The ThunderWolves later walked into the locker room with a commanding 40-30 lead over the Griffins. The first half belonged to the ThunderWolves as the team knocked down a combined five 3-pointers while shooting 58.3% from the field while holding the Griffins to 38.2% shooting.
 
 
Westminster opened the second half on an 11-6 run that cut the lead to 46-41 with just over 15 minutes to play before a 3-ball from Ramiro and a 15-foot mid-range jumper from Hurdle gave the Pack a 51-43 advantage.
 
A quick bucket for the Griffins was halted by back-to-back 3's from Isaiah Thompson (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) gave the Pack some breathing room as the Griffins comeback efforts were on full attack.
 
Westminster used a 12-5 run to tie the game at 62-62 before taking a 70-65 lead, the teams largest lead of the game, with 5:26 left.
 
With the ThunderWolves in desperate need of a bucket, Payne found Lamberth wide open in the corner as the shot clock was winding down to cut the Griffins lead down to 70-68 before Ramiro gave the Pack a 71-70 lead with a step-back 3-pointer from the left wing.
 
A few possessions later and the Pack trailing by 1-point, Ramiro again connected on a step-back 3-pointer, this time from the top of the key, that gave the Pack a 74-72 lead with 3:43 left to play.
 
With 2-minutes remaining and the game tied at 74-74, Ramiro found Moleon again in the middle of the paint to give the Pack a 76-74 lead. The Griffins tied the game on the ensuing possession with a layup from WC Matt Kitzman before Hurdle connected on a go-ahead floater with 33 seconds remaining to give the ThunderWolves a 78-76 advantage.
 
The Griffins attempted a quick score but missed as both teams fought for the rebound, which ended up called a jump ball, in favor of the ThunderWolves. Lamberth quickly fouled, went to the free-throw line before missing the front end of a one-and-one, giving the Griffins one last chance.
 
The Griffins came down the court and attempted a deep 3-pointer and came down with the offensive rebound, only to be fouled by Payne on the way up with .01 remaining on the clock.
 
WC Lewis Johnson made the first free throw and missed the second, as the Pack survived Westminster to walk out of Behnken Field House with a 78-77 lead.
 
The ThunderWolves finished the night shooting 52.8% from the field which included 12 of 26 from the 3-point line, the most 3's the Pack have made since February 13th, 2021, when the ThunderWolves knocked down 14 3's against Westminster.
 
Ramiro led the Pack with a season-high 20 points off four 3's, six assists, and three rebounds while Moleon added 14 points and eight rebounds. Payne added 12 points and six rebounds and Thompson added 11 points, six rebounds, and a block.
 
The ThunderWolves will take tomorrow off and travel up to Grand Junction, Colo. for an RMAC matchup against Colorado Mesa on Saturday evening slated for 7:30 p.m.