PUEBLO, Colo. (Feb. 18, 2022) – The Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team celebrated and honored the late Dr. Sam Batey with a propelling 85-77 win over Western Colorado on Friday evening at Massari Arena.
 
The ThunderWolves jumped out to an early 5-0 lead as Lian Ramiro (Fr., Aurora, Colo.) nailed the first basket of the game followed by a 3-pointer from Micah Lamberth (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.). The Mountaineers showed some light and went on a 12-4 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 12-9 with 12:30 left in the first half before the Pack's dominance in the paint took over. Isaiah Thompson (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) went one of two from the free-throw line followed by a layup and Elijah Moleon (Jr., Killeen, Texas) got himself in the books with a layup that gave the Pack their lead back.
 
The ThunderWolves extended their lead to as much as 32-26 with 3:26 left but the Mountaineers scored five unanswered points to end the half as the Pack went into halftime with a 32-31 lead. The Pack shot 38% from the field in the first half while holding WCU to 34% shooting.
 
Lamberth sparked another 5-0 run to open the second half with another 3-pointer before De'Shaun Cooper (Fr., Poway, Calif.) made it 37-31 just a minute and a half in. The Mountaineer later brought the game within 2 points but a 9-2 run put the ThunderWolves back up 51-42 with 14 minutes to play.
 
This seemed to be the theme of the game as every time the Mountaineers thought they were within striking distance to tie the game or take the lead, the ThunderWolves would answer with a run that gave them a comfortable lead. The Mountaineers last run came late in the second half, cutting the ThunderWolves lead down to 63-60 but some nagging defense from Ramiro caused a WCU turnover and Lamberth finished on the other end to spark a 13-5 run for the Pack and finally brought the game out of reach. The ThunderWolves closed out the Mountaineers for an 85-77 victory.
 
Ramiro paced the ThunderWolves with 26 points (19 in the second half) off 8 of 17 shooting from the field and five assists. Lamberth added 18 points and nearly had himself a double-double, grabbing nine rebounds while Moleon scored 15 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Thompson led the Pack with thirteen rebounds with eleven of them coming on the defensive side.
 
The ThunderWolves return to action tomorrow night for another RMAC affair with Fort Lewis College. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Massari Arena. The Pack will celebrate all alumni, as well as, the lone senior of the squad, Ross Young (Sr., Hyattsville, Md.)