ALAMOSA, Colo. (Jan. 4, 2022) – After leading by as many as 19 points in the second half, the Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team survives the Adams State comeback to walk out of Plachy Hall with an 85-84 RMAC win on Tuesday evening.
 
Micah Lamberth (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) started the game on fire, hitting a three-ball on the ThunderWolves first possession as the freshman guard scored the first seven points for the Pack.
 
A 7-0 run from the Grizzlies later in the half gave them a 14-11 lead with 16:10 left in the half before Noble Robinson (Fr., Lubbock, Texas) knocked down a 3-pointer and tied the game at 18. Lamberth later drove into the lane and finished with a layup before knocking down his second 3-pointer of the game and gave the Pack a 23-22 lead with 10:37 left in the half.
 
The ThunderWolves held on to the lead throughout the first half as the biggest lead came with 3 and a half minutes left in the half when Lian Ramiro (Fr., Aurora, Colo.) hit a deep ball from the top of the key to give the Pack a 40-31 advantage.
 
A late run from the Grizzlies to close the half cut the lead down to 7 points as the ThunderWolves went into halftime with a 42-35 edge.
 
The ThunderWolves opened the second half with a steal from Lamberth who found Malcom Little (So., San Diego, Calif.) running the lane and finished with a dunk before Elijah Moleon (Jr., Killeen. Texas) bullied his way to the rim to give the Pack a 46-35 lead just 42 seconds into the half.
 
After holding on to a 63-52 advantage, Isaiah Thompson (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) knocked down a 3-pointer and sparked a 10-2 run that extended the ThunderWolves lead to 73-54 with 9:39 on the clock. But the Grizzlies didn't give up.
 
The Grizzlies cut the ThunderWolves lead down to 74-79 after a three pointer from ASU Nykolas Lange with 3:20 on the clock. ASU then capitalized on a turnover from Ramiro before the freshman answered with a floater in the lane with the shot clock winding down that gave the ThunderWolves an 81-76 lead.
 
With 1:06 left on the clock and the Pack holding on to an 81-78 lead, ASU came out of a timeout and knocked down a 3-pointer that tied the game with 51 seconds left. With little time on the shot-clock, Little was forced to drive to the basket and forced a foul call before heading to the free-throw line and knocking down two free-throws to give the Pack a 2-point lead with 20 seconds on the clock.
 
ASU Rylan O'Brien used a pump fake to get Meekness Payne (Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.) in the air, finished the layup and got a foul called with 7 seconds on the clock before making the free-throw that gave the Grizzlies their first lead of the second half at 84-83.
 
Coming out of a timeout, Ramiro caught the in-bounding pass in full stride and ran past 3 Grizzlies defenders before bouncing the ball to Lamberth on the block who hit a go-ahead layup with 3 seconds on the clock as the ThunderWolves held on to an 85-84 win.
 
The ThunderWolves shot 61.8% from the field, their highest shooting percentage of the season, which included 9 of 20 from 3-point territory and held a 28-22 advantage on the glass while also dishing out 19 assists, which ties their season-high as a team.
 
Lamberth finished 3 for 3 from three-point territory which included 8 of 9 from the field and added 5 rebounds, 4 assists, a block, and a steal while Ramiro finished the game with 15 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Little added 14 points for the ThunderWolves and Thompson pitched in 11 points and 3 rebounds. This is the seventh-straight game this season the at least four ThunderWolves have finished in double-figures.
 
The Pack are now 4-4 and in 7th place in RMAC standings and will have a few days of rest before hosting South Dakota Mines on Saturday, January 8th at 4 p.m. at Massari Arena.