LAS VEGAS, N.M. (Feb. 9, 2022) – The Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team fell short against New Mexico Highlands 94-84 on Wednesday evening.
The Cowboys came out to a hot start after jumping out to a 21-13 lead to open the game. The Cowboys hit three 3-pointers in the stretch before the ThunderWolves scored five straight points to cut the lead down to three points with 11:37 left in the first half.
The hot shooting Cowboys caught fire again from deep, knocking down three more 3-pointers to extend their lead to as many as twelve points in half, but the Pack stayed hungry.
Lian Ramiro (Fr., Aurora, Colo.) later knocked down a three at the buzzer that cut the Cowboys lead down to 52-44 at the break.
The ThunderWolves started the second half forcing the ball inside as
De'Shaun Cooper (Fr., Poway, Calif.) and
Isaiah Thompson (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) scored the first four points of the half and cut the deficit down to four points. A 6-0 run from the Cowboys pushed the lead back to double-digits with 17:17 on the clock as the Cowboys maintained the double-digit lead for the next four minutes.
Ramiro knocked down a triple followed by a pair of free-throws from
Elijah Moleon (Jr., Killeen, Texas) and a free-throw from
Malcom Little (So., San Diego, Calif.) sparked a comeback for the Pack. The ThunderWolves nagging defense forced the Cowboys to miss three out of their next four shots as the Pack cut the lead down to 76-73 with 10 minutes to play.
Ramiro later tied the game at 82 after he hit a turnaround jumper from the elbow, but two turnovers and a costly foul on a 3-point attempt from
Micah Lamberth (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) stopped the comeback efforts as the Cowboys held on to a 94-84 win.
The ThunderWolves finished with four players in double-digits as Ramiro paced the team with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists while
Tristan Hurdle (Fr., Highlands Ranch, Colo.) chipped in 14 points and 3 boards. Little added 13 points and 4 rebounds off the bench while Cooper finished with 12 points off 6 of 9 shooting from the field.
The ThunderWolves return to action on Friday evening at the team hosts Westminster at 7:30 p.m. at Massari Arena.
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