PUEBLO, Colo. (December 30, 2022) - The Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team dropped a 67-60 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference decision against Colorado Mesa on Saturday inside Massari Arena.

In the game, CSU Pueblo (6-6, 2-4 RMAC) shot 50.0 percent from the field on 22-of-44 shooting compared to 51.1 percent shooting Colorado Mesa. CSU Pueblo's bench outscored the Mavericks 19-14 including thirteen coming in the second half.

Meekness Payne led the ThunderWolves with 16 points and Isaiah Thompson pitched in 10 points and brought down a team-high nine rebounds.

The first half, CSU Pueblo's offense started slow out of the gate and allowed for the Mavericks to build a lead as high as eight points late in the period. The Mavericks went on fire from behind the arc and hit a pair of threes before the ThunderWolves started to claw their way back.

With 2:40 remaining in the half and the ThunderWolves down by eight, a jumper from Payne and a pair of free throws by Lian Ramiro cut the lead in half with less than a minute to go.

CMU hit a three with 53 seconds left and the Pack quickly responded 12 seconds later with a three from Makiah Morris.

After a three-point try from the Mavericks and a scramble play inside the paint as time expired ended the half with CMU leading 31-28. 

The Pack went 10-of-22 from the field in the half.

Starting the final period, Payne stole the first possession and took the ball end-to-end, and knocked down a jumper to get within a point.

With 16:26 left, De'Shaun Cooper scored a unconventional three-pointer, hitting a and-one shot, tying the game at 38-38.

The ThunderWolves built their biggest lead of the half with 9:04 left and led 49-45 before the Pack shooting went cold.

CMU capitalized on two Pack turnovers and went on a 9-0 run to go ahead 53-49. CMU hit a two threes during the run and took firm hold over the final five minutes.

The Pack went down by as many as ten with 2:26 left before both teams exchanged baskets and ended the seven-point Pack loss.

CSU Pueblo returns to the court tomorrow for an RMAC battle against Westminster. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. inside Massari Arena.

Ahead of the game, the Pack women will play the Griffins starting at 2 p.m. Both games are free admission for kids in the K-12th grades.