PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball will look to continue its push towards a postseason berth this coming Friday, Jan. 27 as the ThunderWolves travel to Denver, Colo., for a 7 p.m. Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game against Regis University.
Friday's game is an important one in the RMAC standings for both teams as currently CSU Pueblo is seventh in the league standings with a 6-7 record, while Regis is tied for eighth in the league standings with South Dakota Mines with identical 5-7 records. The top eight teams in the standings at the end of the regular season advance to the RMAC Tournament.
CSU Pueblo, who has won three of its last four games with the lone setback being a 75-57 loss last Saturday at home to then eighth-ranked Black Hills State, comes into this week's lone game sporting a 10-9 overall record.
Following Friday's game, the Pack will remain on the road for games next weekend (Feb. 3-4) at 17th-ranked Fort Lewis and Adams State.
Friday's game at Regis will mark just the seventh game away from home this season for the Pack as the ThunderWolves are 2-4 away from the home on the year with all those road games coming in league play. The Pack is 8-5 at home on the year, including being 4-3 at home in league play.
ABOUT CSU PUEBLO
The ThunderWolves, who have lost five of its nine games this season by seven of fewer points, have four players averaging in double figures on the season as sophomore guard
Lian Ramiro (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) leads the way offensively at 13.6 points per game and is also averaging 2.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game and is shooting 38 percent from the field and 85 percent at the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in three straight games, including a season-high 22 points last time out against Black Hills State.
In addition to Ramiro, senior guard/forward
Meekness Payne (Phoenix, Ariz./University of New Hampshire) is averaging 11.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and is shooting 46 percent from the field, 34 percent from the 3-point line and 72 percent at the free throw line and leads the team with 17 blocked shots. Payne has reached double figures in scoring in 10 games.
The third double-digit scorer for the Pack is junior guard
Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College). Morris is averaging 10.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game and is shooting 42 percent from the field and has made a team-leading 29 treys and is shooting 38 percent from long distance and 77 percent from the free throw line. Morris has tallied double digits in scoring in 10 games and scored a CSU Pueblo season high 25 points earlier this season against Cameron.
CSU Pueblo's fourth double-digit scorer this season is sophomore forward
Isaiah Thompson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Fountain-Fort Carson), who is averaging 10.4 points and is third in the RMAC in rebounds per game at 8.7. Thompson, who has had a team-leading five double-doubles this season, is shooting 49 percent from the field and 70 percent at the line and has reached double figures in scoring 13 times, including nine times in his last 10 games.
As a team, CSU Pueblo is fourth in the league in scoring defense as they are allowing 67.1 points per game and are also fourth in the RMAC in opponents three-point field goal percentage as their foes are shooting just 32.0 percent from long distance. In addition, the Pack is fifth in the RMAC in opponents field goal percentage (42.9 percent), fifth in turnover margin (+0.0) and fourth in blocked shots per game as they are averaging 3.5 per game and have blocked 67 shots in 19 games.
Offensively, the Pack is averaging 71.8 points per game and shooting 46 percent from the field, 32 percent from long distance and 69.8 percent from the free throw line. In RMAC play, the Pack are scoring 66.4 points per game and are allowing 68.2 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 36-57 record and is 27-48 in RMAC games. The 10 wins are just two 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 REGIS
Much like CSU Pueblo, Regis enters Friday's action having won two of its last games with the lone loss being a 94-71 setback this past Saturday at Chadron State. That lone came one night after the Rangers picked up an 81-69 win at Colorado Christian. Regis is sporting an 8-10 overall record and a 5-7 mark in the RMAC. The Rangers have been strong at home this season as they are 5-5 on their home floor and have won two straight at home since a 93-61 loss to fifth-ranked Colorado School of Mines on Jan. 13.
As a team, Regis is averaging 70.3 points per game and are allowing 74.1 points per game. The Rangers are shooting 43 percent from the field, but just 33 percent from the 3-point line and are seventh in the RMAC in free throw shooting at 73 percent. Defensively, Regis is allowing its foes to shoot 47 percent from the field and 35 percent from the 3-point line. The Rangers are fourth in the league in turnover margin at +0.4 as they are forcing 12.3 per game and are averaging just 11.9 per game on the year. In RMAC play, Regis is averaging 71.6 points per game and is allowing 76.8 points per game.
Leading the way offensively for Regis is former CSU Pueblo and Nebraska-Kearney transfer guard David Simental. Simental, who played for the Pack from 2019-21 and was the Colorado Prep Player of the Year as a senior at Pueblo West High School in 2016, is averaging 15.2 points per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field, 41 percent from the 3-point line and is second in the RMAC in free throwing shooting at 89 percent. Simental has reached double figures in 11 games, including tallying 41 points in Regis' 85-70 home win over MSU Denver on Jan. 14.
In addition to Simental, who is playing for his fifth school in six seasons, senior guard Aaron Bokol is averaging 10.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 49 percent from the field and 38 percent from downtown. He leads the team in assists with 38 and steals with 20 and has recorded five double-doubles on the season.
The No. 3 scorer for the Rangers is sophomore forward Brayden Carter, who is averaging 10.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 47 percent from the field and 73 percent from the 3-point line and has blocked a team-best 13 shots. He has reached double figures in 11 games on the year.
Regis is coached by Brady Bergeson, who is in his eighth season as Regis' coach in 2022-23. Bergeson was an assistant at MSU Denver for six seasons when the Roadrunners compiled an overall record of 157-58 and an RMAC record of 93-21. In his eight seasons with the Rangers, Bergeson has compiled a 127-86 overall record and his 127 wins are second-most in school history.
Friday's game marks the first of two meetings this season as Regis will close the regular season with a game in Pueblo on Feb. 25. CSU Pueblo holds a 15-8 edge in the all-time series, including collecting a 75-72 win at Regis last season. Prior to that win, Regis had won three straight games in the series. CSU Pueblo is 8-4 at Regis and 7-4 at home in the series.
