PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball played right with the No. 8 ranked team in NCAA Division II for nearly 26 minutes, but a nearly six-plus minute scoring drought dashed the upset bid by the ThunderWolves as they fell 75-57 to Black Hills State in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play at Massari Arena.
 
With the setback, the ThunderWolves snap their three-game winning streak and moves its record to 10-9 overall and 6-7 in the RMAC, while the Top 10 nationally ranked Yellow Jackets extended its win streak to three straight games and improves to 16-1 overall and 10-1 in the RMAC. Despite the setback, the Pack remains in seventh place in the league standings after 13 league games.
 
Not only did the ThunderWolves play neck-and-neck with the Jackets for nearly 26 minutes, they held a 38-37 lead following a lay-up from sophomore guard Lian Ramiro (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) with 15:21 left in the game.
 
Ironically, that lay-up by Ramiro would be the final points for the Pack over a span of six-plus minutes until sophomore forward Isaiah Thompson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Fountain-Fort Carson) scored on a driving lay-up with 9:06 left in the game.
 
In between those baskets by the Pack, Black Hills State would score 13 straight points to turn a one-point deficit into a 12-point lead at 50-38 following a free throw by Sindou Cisse with 9:33 left in the game.
 
Ramiro led the way offensively for the Pack as he scored a season high 22 points and added six rebounds. In addition to Ramiro, Thompson added 12 points and seven rebounds, while senior forward Meekness Payne (Phoenix, Ariz./New Hampshire) added nine points in the loss.
 
The Pack, who collected an 82-59 win last season at Black Hills State, who advanced to the Final Four of the 2022 NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament, jumped out to an early 10-8 lead just four-plus minutes into the game. In fact, CSU Pueblo held its largest lead of the game following a lay-up by Ramiro with 6:42 left in the opening half. Ramiro's lay-up gave the Pack a 19-16 lead.
 
Following that lead, BHSU, whose only loss this season came at 23rd-ranked Colorado Mesa, responded with an 8-2 run to retake the lead at 24-21 following a trey from PJ Hayes.
 
Three straight free throws by the Pack retied the game at 24 with 3:57 left in the first half, the Jackets would close the half by scoring four of the final five points to hold a 28-25 halftime lead.
 
Payne hit a trey for the first points of the second half to retie the game ay 28 just 66 seconds into the half. BHSU would retake the lead a little over a minute later following a trey from 2021-22 All-American Joel Scott, who tallied a game-high 29 points and added 10 rebounds.
 
The Pack, though, would respond following Scott's trey by scoring 10 of the next 16 points to take a 38-37 lead with 15:21 left in game. That is when BHSU would score 13 straight points to retake the a lead that wouldn't relinquish the remainder of the game.
After Thompson's lay-up snapped CSU Pueblo's nearly six-minute scoreless drought, the Pack would score six of the next eight points to pull within 52-46 following a fast break basket by Thompson with 6:40 remaining.
 
The Jackets, though, would respond by scoring 23 of the next 31 points to extend its lead to 75-55 with 41 seconds left. The run was capped by a dunk from Scott, who came into the game averaging 22.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
 
CSU Pueblo junior guard Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College) capped the scoring on a lay-up with 29 seconds left in the game.
 
In addition to Scott's double-double of 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Hayes added 16 points and seven assists and Matthew Ragsdale tallied 11 points and five boards for the Yellow Jackets.
 
For the game, CSU Pueblo shot 35 percent from the field and 23 percent from the 3-point line, while Black Hills State shot 48 percent from the field and 36 percent from long distance.
 
BHSU held a 40-33 edge on the boards, but the Pack forced the Jackets into 10 turnovers and had nine second chance points thanks to seven offensive boards.
 
BHSU blocked five shots and had 15 assists, while the Pack had two blocks and four assists.
 
Both teams shot over 70 percent from the free throw line as CSU Pueblo was 12-for-16 (75 percent) from the line, while BHSU was 10-for-14 (71 percent) at the line.
 
CSU Pueblo will look to start a new win streak this coming Friday, Jan. 27 as they travel to Denver, Colo., for a 7 p.m. match-up against Regis University. The Rangers are one game below the Pack in the league standings as they are sporting a 5-7 league record and an 8-10 overall record.