PUEBLO, Colo. (Feb. 8, 2021) – Down 10 at the half, the Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team used a second half surge to get past Fort Lewis College, 84-77, Monday in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contest at Massari Arena. 
 
The ThunderWolves (3-6, 3-6 RMAC) scored nearly half their second half points from the free throw line, as the Pack went 22-for-24 (92%) from the charity stripe. In the game, the Pack posted a 27-for-31 effort and shot 87.1 percent from the line. From the field, CSU Pueblo shot 47.2 percent. 
 
The Skyhawks (5-5, 4-5 RMAC) went from shooting 64 percent from the field in the first half to a 38 percentage in the second half and finished with a 50.8 percentage. The road team hit four 3-pointers in the first half, but went 0-for-9 in the final 20 minutes. Riley Farris, FLC's leading scorer and reigning RMAC Offensive Player of the Week, finished with 26 points, but scored just four points in the second half. 
 
Guard David Simental (R-Jr., Pueblo West, Colo.) led the Pack with 27 points on 8-for-13 (61.5%) shooting from the field and a 9-for-10 (90%) effort from the free throw line. 
 
Postgame Comments
 
"Down 10 at the half it would have been easy to just show up in the second half and then go home," said CSU Pueblo Head Men's Basketball Coach Matt Hammer. "It was great to see our guys fight. In that second half they really stepped up and brought it on the defensive end. We kept them off the free throw line and that's pretty good for a team as physical as they are. This group is starting to figure it out and play possession by possession. We are really starting to see that with these young guys." 
 
"It was really my teammates, they set me up and gave me options and I played off of them," said Tre Brown. "With this team I'm able to be me and I'm able to exploit the defense and get in the lane. We start with defense every practice. We kicked it up in the second half and we wanted it more."
 
Stat Leaders
 
Brown (R-Jr., G, Tacoma, Wash.) scored 14 of his 15 points in the second half and went 9-for-10 (90%) from the line. He also tied for the team lead with seven rebounds and dished out a team-best four assists. 
 
Simental added five rebounds and two steals to his stat line. He knocked down two 3-pointers. 
 
Guard Tristan Hurdle (Fr., Highlands Ranch, Colo.) helped the ThunderWolves out of an early hole and scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half. The team's leader in 3-pointers made hit three from downtown against the Skyhawks. 
 
Senior Alex Reed (G, Raleigh, N.C.) scored 10 points, which included an 8-for-8 effort from the free throw line. He brought down seven rebounds to tie for the team lead. He was also tasked with guarding Farris for much of the game, which included the second half when he struggled to score. 
 
Eric Williams (R-Fr., G, Centennial, Colo.) got the start and chipped in nine points and four rebounds. 
 
Summary
 
Fort Lewis came out of the gates on fire and after just 4:18 of game time expired, the visiting team was ahead 16-2. CSU Pueblo slowly got back into the game and during the final five minutes of the half were within four on three different occasions. A 7-1 run by the Skyhawks in the final minute and a half pushed their lead back to double digits and they went into the locker room leading 49-39. 
 
With 13 minutes left in the game, Fort Lewis led 58-51. A Williams 3-pointer then started and finished a 14-6 run by the ThunderWolves and with 9:02 remaining, the Pack had their first lead at 65-64. During the run, four different players scored. 
 
The two teams traded buckets and with 4:20 left, FLC held a 73-71 advantage. The ThunderWolves then held the Skyhawks scoreless for the next 3:46 to post a 7-0 run that handed the home team a 78-73 lead with only 34 ticks remaining. A perfect 6-for-6 effort from the line by the Pack in those final seconds secured their first win in over a month (played just two games due to COVID-19 testing and protocol) and ended a three-game win streak for the Skyhawks. 
 
Up Next
 
CSU Pueblo travels to Westminster College (6-7, 6-7 RMAC), Feb. 13 for a 7:30 p.m. RMAC contest with the Griffins. 

-- PACK --