PUEBLO, Colo. (Feb. 26, 2021) – For the second time in three days, the Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team went down in defeat at the hands of Regis University, as the ThunderWolves fell Friday in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game, 79-74. 
 
 The Pack (3-14, 3-14 RMAC) shot 52.7 percent from the field, while the Rangers (6-9, 6-9 RMAC) posted a 50.9 percentage. RU hit eight 3-pointers to CSU Pueblo's four. The home team went 12-for-14 (85.7%) from the free throw line, while Regis went 13-for-19 (68.4%). 
 
Freshman Micah Lamberth (G, Colorado Springs, Colo.) scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the Pack on both ends of the floor. He shot 7-of-11 (63.6%) from the field and went 3-for-5 (60%) from long range. Three of his season-high 10 rebounds came on the offensive end. 
 
Postgame Comments 
 
"We showed some grit and some toughness," said CSU Pueblo Head Men's Basketball Coach Matt Hammer. "We were about two minutes too late. We just can't dig ourselves into a hole and it starts with the mistakes we make. It's not really anything they do that make us have those mistakes, it's on us."
 
"We weren't surprised by Micah's performance. We've seen him do this in practice and about every time I talk to him I tell him he needs to be more aggressive. He needs to look to score and look to shoot. He's a great kid with a great work ethic that comes from a great family."
 
"I just wanted to come out in this game and play as hard as I could," Lamberth said. "The last time we played them I didn't feel like I did enough. Coach put me in the starting lineup about a week ago and everyone was telling me to be as aggressive as I can."
 
Stat Leaders
 
Freshman De'Shaun Cooper (F, Poway, Calif.) went 5-for-7 (71.4%) from the field and 3-of-4 (75%) from the charity stripe for 13 points. 
 
Junior guard David Simental (Pueblo West, Colo.) totaled 12 points with four assists and three rebounds. 
 
Off the bench, Jaedon Bowles (F, Aurora, Colo.) had 10 points and three rebounds. 
 
Summary
 
The Pack started strong and built a five-point lead at 11-6 through the first six minutes of the game. Four different players contributed to the early scoring. 
 
The CSU Pueblo lead was four at 17-13 with 10:41 left in the opening half, but the Rangers would go on to post an 11-2 run during the next four minutes of game time to open up a five point advantage. RU kept the pressure on the rest of the half and owned a lead as large as 14 before heading into the locker room winning 45-33. 
 
In the second half, Regis' lead hit 19 at 71-52 with 7:10 left in regulation. 
 
The ThunderWolves chipped away at the deficit and made it a ball game with 44 ticks left and the score sitting at 76-74. On the next Ranger possession, the Pack forced a miss, but an offensive rebound led to a foul to put the Rangers at the line. The road team only converted on one free throw to give CSU Pueblo a shot at tying the ball game, but a 3-pointer from atop the key was off the mark and the ball landed in the hands of a Regis player. 
 
The Pack won that final seven minutes 22-8 and the second half 41-34, but the first half hole proved to be too large to get out of in the five-point loss. 
 
Up Next
 
The Pack close the season Saturday hosting No. 7 Colorado School of Mines at 6:30 p.m. No fans will be allowed. 
 
-- PACK --