CHADRON, Neb. (Feb. 6, 2022) – A crucial missed free throw down the stretch halts the Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team in a thrilling 88-86 overtime loss to Chadron State.
 
Lian Ramiro (Fr., Aurora, Colo.) started the game out by scoring eight of his ten points of the half in the first six minutes of play as the Pack jumped out to an early 15-8 lead. Chadron State then gained momentum and went on their own 15-6 run and quickly tied the game with 7:52 left in the half.
 
CSC Beau Bragg finished an and-one with 4:22 that gave the Eagles a 29-25 lead before the Pack went on an 11-6 run to end the half which included four points from De'Shaun Cooper (Fr., Poway, Calif.) as the ThunderWolves and the Eagles went into the break tied at 36.
 
The Eagles took control of the second half after taking a 58-49 lead with 10:37 left as the Pack went a cold 4 of 11 from the field in that time frame. Ramiro and Cooper caught fire for the ThunderWolves offensively, but the Pack had no answer for the Eagles high-powered offense as the teams traded buckets and CSC maintained a comfortable 7-point lead.
 
Isaiah Thompson (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) later sparked a comeback with an easy layup with three minutes left before the nagging Pack defense forced a turnover and Ramiro answered on the other end with a layup to bring the ThunderWolves within three points with 2:25 left on the clock. A pair of free-throws from Ramiro cut the Eagles lead down to one point but Chadron State brought their lead back to three points, 76-73, on the ensuing possession.
 
Coming out of a timeout, a hot Ramiro dribbled around his defender only to finish strong at the rim and was fouled before heading to the free-throw line and tying the game at 76 with 33 seconds to play.
 
The Eagles missed the go-ahead layup and Micah Lamberth (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) grabbed the defensive rebound before a missed three-point attempt from Ramiro and a tip-in was missed by Lamberth before the buzzer went off to send the game to overtime.
 
The teams traded baskets to open the overtime period before Thompson and Ramiro mishandled a hand-off near half-court which gave the Eagles an easy layup on the other end. The Eagles then took advantage of a missed shot attempt from the ThunderWolves and extended their lead to four points with 1:44 on the clock before Thompson found Lamberth cutting the lane to cut the deficit down to two points.
 
Ramiro missed his first free throw of the night on the back end of a pair of free throws that cut the lead down to one point and forced the Pack to foul on the inbounds pass. CSC Marcus Jefferson missed his first attempt before knocking down his second free-throw and giving the Eagles an 87-85 lead with 13 seconds on the clock.
 
The ThunderWolves raced down the court and found Ramiro before he was fouled with 6 seconds remaining. With a chance to tie the game with a pair of free throws, the freshman missed his second attempt and the ThunderWolves were forced to foul yet again.
 
Again, the Eagles went 1 of 2 from the line to take a two-point advantage, but a missed step-back three attempt from Ramiro halted the ThunderWolves in an 88-86 loss to Chadron State.
 
 CSU Pueblo shot 51.6% from the field which included 32 of 62 from the field and 4 of 12 from three as the Eagles grabbed 38 rebounds to the ThunderWolves 30 and out-scored the Pack in the paint 46-38.
 
Ramiro shot 12 of 26 from the field and knocked down a pair of three-pointers on his way to a career-high 37 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds. Cooper also had himself a night, scoring a career-high in points and blocks as the freshman finished with 19 points, 4 blocks, and a steal while Lamberth added 12 points and 6 rebounds. Ramiros' 37 points lands him tied for the 10th most points in single game scoring in CSU Pueblo history.
 
The ThunderWolves have a quick turnaround with a Wednesday matchup at New Mexico Highlands at 3 p.m. before the team heads back home on Friday evening to take on Westminster at Massari Arena at 7:30 p.m.