PUEBLO, Colo. (Feb. 18, 2021) – The Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team is on the road Feb. 19-20 for two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games. The ThunderWolves will play Western Colorado University Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Fort Lewis University Saturday beginning at 6 p.m.
 
A free video stream and live stats will be available for both contests. 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 OPPONENTS
 
• The ThunderWolves (3-9, 3-9 RMAC) will be looking for revenge from Tuesday's loss to Western Colorado. The Pack had won seven of the last eight games against the Mountaineers (5-8, 5-7 RMAC) entering the game, but fell 107-82. WSC shot 63.6 percent from the field and hit 15 3-pointers. For the Pack, Bryce Sanchious produced a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
 
• Saturday, Fort Lewis (5-6, 4-6 RMAC) will be the ones looking for payback, as the ThunderWolves erased a 10-point halftime deficit at home Feb. 8 to defeat FLC, 84-77. David Simental scored 27 points on 8-for-13 (61.5%) shooting to help lift CSU Pueblo to the win. The Skyhawks led 49-39 at the break, but the Pack won the second half 45-28 to earn the victory. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
The Colorado Pack suffered a RMAC loss Tuesday, 107-82, to Western Colorado.
 
The Mountaineers shot 63.6 percent from the field and knocked down 15 3-pointers. The ThunderWolves shot 47.6 percent in the game. 
 
The Pack had 49 points off the bench, led by the team's scoring leader, Bryce Sanchious. The senior produced a double-double with 24 points on 11-of-12 (91.7%) shooting from the field and 12 rebounds. He was one point and one rebound shy of his career-highs with the ThunderWolves. 
  
Also off the bench, Eric Williams added 13 points. Senior Alex Reed scored 12 points and added three rebounds. 
 
The ThunderWolves' only lead came when they scored the first basket of game to go up 2-0. The Mountaineers came down and hit their first of 15 3-pointers to take a lead it wouldn't relinquish. WCU was up eight at 16-8 with 14:21 left, but the Pack were able to cut the deficit to three at 24-21 with 10:55 showing on the clock.  
 
The Mountaineers' lead was between four and eight during the rest of the half before settling at 55-48 at the break. WCU shot 63 percent from the field and hit 10 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. 
 
Western Colorado pushed their lead to double-digits early in the second half, but the ThunderWolves hung around and trailed by seven at 71-64 with 12:44 left in regulation. The Mountaineers responded immediately and was off to the races, en route to the league victory. 
 
THE PACK
 
• Junior David Simental leads the team with 17.8 points per game to sit 10th in the RMAC. He is shooting 61.1 percent from the field to rank sixth in the league. His 91.2 percent effort from the free throw line leads the conference. Simental scored 48 points against Westminster (Feb. 13) to establish a program record (previous record was 46 by Damon Williams in 1997). The effort is the most by a member of the RMAC since 2015 and is the second most in NCAA Division II this season. 
 
• Junior Tre Brown is averaging 14.3 points per game. He has five games with 19 or more points. Brown is shooting 86.0 percent from the free throw line to sit seventh in the league. He owns 2.8 assists per game to rank tied for ninth. 
 
• Freshman Lian Ramiro is tied for first in the RMAC with a 1.9 assist/turnover ratio. He guides the team with 32 assists, a 3.2 assists per game average that ranks eighth in the league. Ramiro adds 11.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
 
• Freshman Tristan Hurdle has a team-best 25 3-pointers, which are 2.1 3-pointers per game that ranks tied for seventh in the RMAC. His 34.7 percent effort from long range is good for 10th in the league. He has 9.5 points per game and is third on the team with 3.7 rebounds per game. 
 
• Freshman De'Shaun Cooper adds 8.2 points per game and is shooting 60.6 percent from the field. His 0.8 blocks per game (10 total) is tied for ninth in the conference. He leads the team with 4.2 rebounds per game. 
 
• In the RMAC, the team is third in free throw shooting (75.4%) and tied for fifth in scoring (77.5 ppg).
 
• 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 MOUNTAINEERS
 
• The Mountaineers are 5-8 overall with a 5-7 RMAC record. Western Colorado snapped a two-game losing streak when it defeated CSU Pueblo Tuesday. The Mountaineers are 4-2 at home this season. 
 
• Western Colorado averages 77.5 points per game to tie for fifth in the league. The team leads the league with a 40.6 percentage from long range and is second with 10.6 3-pointers per game. The Mountaineers own a 1.16 assist/turnover ratio that is good for second in the league, their 1.85 turnover margin is fourth and 13.2 assists per game is also fourth. 
 
• Matthew Ragsdale leads the team with 19.7 points per game to rank sixth in the league. He has a team high 35 3-pointers (3rd in the RMAC with 2.7 3-pt fgpg). Avery Rembao adds 14.1 points per contest. Cole Sienknecht has 13.0 points per game and has a 41.7 percentage from long range. Jackson Ehrlin, who has missed the last four games, posts 10.2 points per game, while bringing down 8.1 rebounds per game to rank second in the RMAC. Grant Wilkinson has 40 assists, a 3.3 average that ranks sixth in the league. 
 
THE SKYHAWKS
 
• The Skyhawks are 5-6 overall and 4-6 in league play. Fort Lewis had won three straight before losing to the Pack and No. 1 Colorado School of Mines. The Skyhawks lost just 67-63 to the Orediggers and were leading 30-17 at the half.  
 
• Riley Farris owns 23.2 points per game to lead the RMAC. He adds 7.8 rebounds per game (3rd in the RMAC), leads the team with 34 assists (3.8 apg is 3rd in the conference) and his 1.8 blocked shots per game is a league-best. 
 
• Will Wittman adds 10.3 points per game and hits on 58.7 percent of his shots. Brenden Boatwright has 10.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.   
 
• The Skyhawks average 78.7 points per game to rank second in the league. They allow 74.9 points per game, a +3.8 scoring margin that ranks fourth in the conference. Fort Lewis leads the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.25) and assists (14.9 apg). FLC is second in blocks (4.2 bpg) and fourth in the RMAC in field goal percentage (49.2%).

-- PACK --