RAPID CITY, South Dakota (December 16, 2022) -  Men's basketball lost Saturday night to South Dakota Mines in Rapid City, SD 76-81. Despite having three players in double figures, including Meekness Payne with 22, the Thunderwolves were just unable to get anything going in overtime. The Pack shot 42.9% from the field, 30.8% from beyond the arc, and 70% from the field. 

CSU Pueblo got off to a hot start, when Payne landed from 3 point range on the first possession of the game. SDM responded, putting the pack down four until Lian Ramiro landed a three of his own, also finishing in double figures with 14, making the score 6-7. Makiah Morris got in on the action with a three, putting the Pack up two with 15:15 remaining. The teams traded buckets, but South Dakota Mines capitalized on turnovers going ahead by 4 with 10 minutes remaining in the half. 

A jumper by Noble Robinson, and another three from Payne put the Thunderwolves back on top. The two squads played even for about 4 minutes, but South Dakota Mines began to pull ahead, leading by 6 with just 3:25 remaining in the half. Micah Lamberth was able to land a three of his own, as was Payne, but the hot shooting was not enough as the Pack faced a 6 point deficit heading into the second half. The first half saw the Thunderwolves land 6 three pointers, shooting 50% from three point range. 

The second half got off to a see-saw battle, as the teams traded four baskets a piece. Ramiro landed a three to get within two points with 15:19 remaining in regulation. South Dakota Mines' offense got hot, scoring three unanswered baskets to stretch their lead to 8 with 13 minutes remaining. This high powered Pack offense was finally able to get things going, scoring 13 unanswered points to lead by 5, highlighted by three baskets from Payne and a pair from Ramiro.

Leading by 5 with 7:21 remaining, after a bucket from South Dakota Mines, Isaiah Thompson landed back to back layups to get the lead by 7 points. The teams saw a back and forth, but when leading by 6, two straight baskets from South Dakota Mines dropped the Pack lead to just 1 with 48 seconds remaining. Following another bucket from Walter Brevin of South Dakota Mines the Pack trailed by 1 point with 23 seconds remaining. Ramiro was able to draw the foul, only being able to convert on one of the two free throws meant the crazy back and forth game was heading to overtime. 

The Thunderwolves shooting went cold in overtime, only being able to land a lone basket from the field and 0 for 3 from beyond the arc. The Pack were able to grab a 3 point lead, but it was depleted quickly when SDM dropped in their own three pointer. CSU Pueblo was able to capitalize on free throw attempts, snatching back the lead with 1:29 remaining. Fouls and converted free throws proved to be the difference maker down the stretch, as South Dakota Mines was able to prevail by 5, the final score being 76-81. 

A hard fought game saw the lead change 13 times, and the score tied 8 times. Thompson was also able to finish in double figures with 10 points, to go along with 8 rebounds. Walter Brevin of South Dakota Mines finished with 34 points and 12 rebounds. 

The Pack will be back in action following the holiday break, returning to Massari Arena to face Colorado Mesa at 4 p.m. on Friday, December 30th.