PUBELO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball will conclude a three-game homestand here this weekend as they host South Dakota School of Mines and eighth-ranked Black Hills State University for back-to-back Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games at Massari Arena.
 
The ThunderWolves will open the weekend with a 7:30 p.m. game on Friday, Jan. 20 against South Dakota School of Mines, before hosting Black Hills State for a 7:30 p.m. contest on Saturday, Jan. 21. Saturday's game will mark the final home game in January for the Pack.
 
CSU Pueblo, who has won two straight games after opening the current three-game homestand with a 59-50 win last Saturday over Western Colorado, comes into this weekend's action sporting a 9-8 overall record and are tied for seventh in the RMAC with a 5-6 record. The Pack is tied with South Dakota School of Mines in the league standings.
 
In last Saturday's win over Western Colorado, the Pack held on after withstanding a second-half rally by the Mountaineers after trailing by as much as 18 points with about 14 minutes left in the contest. The Pack, who led 36-21 at the half and held a 46-28 lead with 11:49 left in game, were held without a field goal over the final 11-plus minutes of the game but earned win thanks to making 13-of-19 free throws during that stretch. Western outscored the Pack, 22-13 during the final stretch of the game.
 
Against Western, sophomore guard Lian Ramiro (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) led the way offensively with 16 points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College) added 14 points and eight rebounds.
 
This weekend's two home games will mark the 12th and 13th home games this season for the Pack as the ThunderWolves are 7-4 at home on the yeae, including being 3-2 at home in RMAC play. The three home wins in RMAC play have come against Western Colorado (59-50), Westminster (70-66) and Adams State (77-54).
 
ABOUT CSU PUEBLO
The ThunderWolves, who have lost five of its eight games this season by seven of fewer points, have three players averaging in double figures on the season as Ramiro leads the way as he is averaging 12.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game and is shooting 36 percent from the field and 84 percent at the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in 11 games and has reached double-digits in scoring in five of his last seven games.
 
In addition to Ramiro, Morris is averaging 11.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field and has made a team-leading 26 treys and is shooting 38 percent from downtown and 77 percent at the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in 10 games, including tallying 30 points and 11 rebounds over his last two games.
 
The third double-digit scorer for the Pack is senior guard/forward Meekness Payne (Phoenix, Ariz./University of New Hampshire) as he is averaging 11.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and has blocked a team-best 14 shots. Payne is shooting 46 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 71 percent from the free throw line and has reached double figures in scoring 10 times, including two games with 20 or more points.
 
A fourth player, sophomore forward Isaiah Thompson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Fountain Fort Carson) is averaging just under double-digits on the season as he is averaging 9.9 points and a team-best 8.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 49 percent from the field and has posted a team-leading four double-doubles on the year.
 
As a team, CSU Pueblo is fourth in the league in scoring defense as they are allowing 67.4 points per game and three-point field goal defense as their foes are shooting 32.3 percent from long distance. In addition, the Pack is fourth in rebound margin (+4.5), fourth in blocks (3.7 per game) and is fifth in both steals per game (6.8) and field goal percentage (46.3 percent).
 
The Pack are averaging 73 points per game and are allowing 67.4 points per game and in RMAC play, they are averaging 67.2 points per game and are allowing 68.8 points per game. CSU Pueblo has scored 70 or more points in eight games, including topping the century mark in back-to-back games earlier this season against Spurgeon and Bacone College.
 
CSU Pueblo is coached by Matt Hammer, who is in his fourth season as the Pack's men's basketball coach. In his three-plus seasons leading the Pack, Hammer has compiled a 35-56 record and is 26-47 in RMAC games. The nine wins are just three shy of the 12 games that Hammer won last season when the Pack finished the season with a 12-16 overall record and a 9-13 mark in the RMAC.
 
ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA SCHOOL OF MINES
The Hardrockers comes into Friday's action sporting a 6-11 overall record, but are tied with CSU Pueblo for seventh in the RMAC with a 5-6 conference mark. The Hardrockers, though have lost of its last six games overall, but enter the weekend fresh off a 69-60 home loss last Saturday to Colorado Mesa. That loss came one day after a 71-68 home win over Westminster. Friday's game will be the second meeting this season between the two schools as the Hardrockers earned an 81-76 win at home in double overtime on Dec. 16.
 
As a team, South Dakota Mines is averaging 70.7 points per game and is allowing 77.8 points per game. They are shooting 43 percent from the field and 35 percent from the 3-point line and are fifth in the league in made 3-pointers per game as they are making 8.5 per game. In addition, the Hardrockers are the top free throw shooting team in the RMAC as they are shooting 77.9 percent from the line and are making 12.4 free throws per game. Their opponents are shooting 47 percent from the field and 39 percent from the 3-point line. In RMAC play, the Hardrockers are averaging 77.5 points per game and are allowing 78.4 points per game.
 
Leading the way offensively for South Dakota Mines is redshirt sophomore guard Brevin Walker, who is fourth in the league in scoring as he averages 21.9 points per game and also averages 4.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game and is shooting 38 percent from the field, 30 percent from the 3-point line and 82 percent from the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in 16 straight games and has scored 30 or more points in a game three times, including a high game of 45 points against MSU Denver. In the earlier game this season with CSU Pueblo, he scored 34 points and added 12 rebounds.
 
In addition to Walker, junior guard Alejandro Rama is second in scoring as he is averaging 17.7 points and 3.9 rebounds and is shooting 48 percent from the field, 30 percent from downtown and 77 percent from the free throw line, while third double-digit scorer for the Hardrockers is senior forward Kolten Mortensen. Mortensen is averaging 14.1 and 5.5 rebounds per game and leads the team in steals with 22 and is shooting 51 percent from the floor.
 
South Dakota Mines is coached by Eric Glenn, who is in his fifth season with the Hardrockers. In his time at South Dakota Mines, Glenn has compiled a 54-69 overall record and has led the team to two RMAC Tournament appearances. Prior to being appointed as the program's head coach, he spent 13 years as an assistant under former head coach Jason Henry.
 
Friday's game marks the second meeting this season and the 11th all-time meeting between the two schools. South Dakota Mines leads the series, 7-3 and has won four straight games in the series, including that 81-76 win earlier this season in overtime. The Pack is 3-2 at home in the series but is 0-5 on Mines' home court.
 
ABOUT BLACK HILLS STATE UNIVERSITY
The Yellow Jackets, who plays at New Mexico Highlands on Friday before traveling to Pueblo, are sporting a 14-1 overall record and an 8-1 mark in the RMAC and are ranked eighth in this week's latest NABC Division II Coaches' Poll. The Yellow Jackets only loss this season was an 80-69 home setback last Friday against Colorado Mesa. That loss snapped a 13-game winning streak for the Yellow Jackets. The Jackets began a new win streak last Saturday with a 66-57 victory at home over Westminster.
 
Black Hills State's success this season can be attributed to an offense that averages 79.9 points per game and allows 66.3 points per game. The Jackets are second in the league in shooting (49.2 percent) and lead the league in opponents field goal percentage defense (38.6 percent), three-point field goal percentage (39.5 percent) and opponents' three-point field goal percentage defense (28.3 percent). In addition, they lead the RMAC in 3-pointers per game as they average 10.5 per game and are third in assist/turnover ratio at 1.2.
 
Leading the way offensively for Black Hills State is senior forward Joel Scott, who is third in the league in scoring at 22.0 points per game and leads the league in rebounds ay 10.0 per game and is second in field goal percentage as he shoots 59.2 percent from the field. The reigning RMAC Player of the Year and an NABC First-Team All-American from last season also shoots 36 percent from the 3-point line and 72 percent from the free throw line and has blocked a team-best 12 shots. Scott, who had a school record 21 double-doubles last season and is a candidate for the 2023 Bevo Francis Award, has posted seven double-doubles this season and has scored in double figures in all 15 games this season, including three straight games of scoring 20 or more points.
 
In addition to Scott, senior guard Matthew Ragsdale, who played high school basketball with Scott at Lewis-Palmer High School, is averaging 13.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per game and is shooting 47 percent from the field, 40 percent from the 3-point line and 79 percent from the free throw line. Ragsdale, who is a transfer from Western Colorado, has scored in double figures in 11 games.
 
Two other Yellow Jackets average in double digits – junior forward PJ Hayes and junior guard Adam Moussa. Hayes is averaging 11.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 54 percent from the field and 47 percent from the 3-point line, while Moussa is averaging 11.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and a league-leading 5.3 assists per game and is shooting 37 percent from the field and 33 percent from the 3-point line.
 
Black Hills State is coached by Ryan Thompson, who is in his fifth season with the Yellow Jackets. In his time at Black Hills State, Thompson, who was the RMAC Coach of the Year in 2021-22, has compiled an 89-36 record with the Yellow Jackets and led the program to its first-ever Final Four berth last season.
 
Saturday's game will be the first meeting this season for both teams and the 18th all-time meeting overall with Black Hills State holding a slight 9-8 advantage in the series. CSU Pueblo won the team's previous meeting, 82-59, in Spearfish, S.D. In fact, the Pack has won two of the previous three matchups with the lone loss being a 77-75 setback in Pueblo on Nov. 23, 2021.
 
Following this weekend's two games, the Pack will return to the road for a 7 p.m. RMAC match-up on Friday, Jan. 27 in Denver, Colo., against Regis.