PUEBLO, Colo. (Feb. 1, 2021) – The Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team returns to action Feb. 2 at South Dakota School of Mines in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game beginning at 7:30 p.m.
 
The ThunderWolves' home game Friday against Chadron State College has been postponed due to COVID-19 testing and protocol. A rescheduled date has not been announced. 
 
No fans will be allowed at the King Center in Rapid City, S.D.. A free video stream and live stats will be available. Audio will be available on AM1350 Fox Sports Pueblo, online or on the iHeart app. Play-by-play will come from Jim Brooks, the Voice of the ThunderWolves.  
 
VERSUS THE OPPONENT
 
• Last season the ThunderWolves (2-5, 2-5 RMAC) and Hardrockers (6-5, 6-5 RMAC) split the season series with each team winning on their home floor. The Pack won 82-64 at Massari Arena, while South Dakota Mines defeated CSU Pueblo 73-44 in the last meeting in Rapid City, S.D. In that last home win, David Simental scored a game-high 23 points and knocked down four 3-pointers. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
It's been a little over two weeks since the ThunderWolves last hit the floor. In that contest on Jan. 16, the Pack fell at home to UCCS, 73-67. 
 
The Pack shot 49.1 percent from the field and allowed the Mountain Lions to shoot just 38.6 percent. The difference was a 26-for-32 (81.3%) effort from the free throw line by UCCS. The Mountain Lions went 22-of-27 (81.4%) in the second half. CSU Pueblo shot just 16 free throws in the game and went 9-for-16 (56.3%).
 
Guard David Simental guided the team with his second consecutive 20-point game, as he dropped 22 points on an 8-of-9 (88.9%) effort from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 performance from the line. He was the only Pack player who scored in double figures. He scored 20 points in the second half after getting into foul trouble during the first half and only playing six minutes. 
 
The game was a back and forth battle, as the contest was tied on 10 occasions and the lead changed seven times. 
 
A Simental jumper moved the score to a 59-59 tie with just 2:58 remaining in the game, but a 6-0 run by the Mountain Lions handed the road team their largest lead of the night with under two minutes to play. 
 
The deficit was just two at 67-65 with only 29 ticks left, but the ThunderWolves weren't able to close out the game and fell by the six-point margin, 73-67.
 
THE PACK
 
•  In the last two games, junior David Simental has totaled 50 points, is shooting 18-for-22 (81.8%) from the field and is a perfect 13-of-13 from the line. This season he is averaging a team-best 14.3 points per game and shooting 64.3 percent from the field to rank second in the league. His 88.9 percent effort from the free throw line is fourth in the conference. 
 
• Junior Tre Brown adds 14.0 points per game. Brown is shooting 83.9 percent from the free throw line to sit 10th in the league. 
 
• Freshman Lian Ramiro is tied for the lead in the RMAC with a 2.2 assist/turnover ratio. He guides the team with 24 assists, a 3.4 assists per game average that ranks sixth in the league. Ramiro adds 11.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
 
• Freshman De'Shaun Cooper adds 9.9 points per game and is shooting 72.1 percent from the field. His 0.9 blocks per game (6 total) is tied for ninth in the conference. He is second on the team with 4.6 rebounds per game. 
 
• Freshman Tristan Hurdle has a team-best 16 3-pointers, which are 2.3 3-pointers per game that ranks sixth in the RMAC. His 39.0 percent effort from long range is good for ninth in the league. He has 9.7 points per game, while he leads the team with 4.7 rebounds per game. 
 
• In the RMAC, the team is sixth in points per game (73.7 ppg), seventh in field goal percentage (47.7%) and seventh in free throw percentage (72.4%).
 
• Head Coach Matt Hammer is in his second season as head coach. 
 
• CSU Pueblo returned four players from last year's roster, while only three saw the floor. The rest of the 14-player roster is made up of four transfers and seven freshmen. 
 
THE HARDROCKERS
 
• The Hardrockers are 6-5 overall and in the RMAC. The team lost to the Mountain Lions Jan. 29, 67-55. South Dakota Mines owns a 3-0 record at home this season and have won those three games by a total of six points. 
 
• The 'Rockers are scoring a league-low 65.6 points per game, but rank sixth in the conference by allowing 71.5 points per contest. South Dakota Mines is second in the RMAC with a +5.0 rebounding margin. 

• The Hardrockers are led by Wilfred Dickson's 13.9 points per game. Alejandro Rama adds 10.7 points and a team-best 2.2 assists per game. Kolten Mortensen leads SDM with 7.7 rebounds per game. He has knocked down a team-best 18 3-pointers and averages 10.5 points per game.

-- PACK --