DENVER, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball dropped a heartbreaker here Friday evening as the ThunderWolves fell one point shy of a victory over Regis University thanks to two free throws with three seconds left from David Simental at Regis Fieldhouse. Simental's free throws sealed Regis' 70-69 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win over the ThunderWolves.
 
With the loss, CSU Pueblo drops its second straight game and moves its record to 10-10 overall and 6-8 in the RMAC, while Regis improved to 9-10 overall and 6-7 in the league. The loss also pushed the Pack out of the top eight in the league standings as they are currently sitting tied for ninth in the league with New Mexico Highlands.
 
CSU Pueblo came into the game sitting in a tie for seventh place in the league standings with nine games left in the regular season.
 
Junior guard Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College) paced the Pack offensively with 16 points, including scoring 12 of those points in the first half. In addition to Morris, sophomore forward Isaiah Thompson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Fountain-Fort Carson) tallied 14 points and six rebounds, while sophomore Lian Ramiro (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) added 10 points, including tallying seven of those 10 points after halftime.
 
Sophomore forward De'Shaun Cooper (Poway, Calif./Balboa School) had nine points and sophomore guard Noble Robinson (Lubbock, Texas/Clarendon College) had eight points off the bench as CSU Pueblo outscored Regis' bench, 19-10. Robinson also added three assists and tied a career high with three steals in 30 minutes of action.
 
"I thought Noble came in tonight and brought some energy and did some really good things on both sides of the ball," CSU Pueblo head coach Matt Hammer said following the game. "I am not a big plus/minus coach, but Noble had a +12 at the half and finished the night with a +15."
 
Simental, who is a Pueblo, Colo., native and played two seasons at CSU Pueblo from 2019-21 and then played the 2021-22 season at Nebraska-Kearney before arriving at Regis this year, finished with a game-high 21 points, but no points were more important than his two free throws with three seconds left to give the Rangers a 70-69 lead.
 
The two free throws came 17 seconds after senior forward Meekness Payne (Phoenix, Ariz./University of New Hampshire) gave the Pack a 69-68 lead on his turn-around jumper with 20 seconds remaining in the game.
 
Following Simental's two free throws, the Pack had a chance to win the game, but Ramiro's final shot attempt came right as the buzzer sounded. The shot fell short to seal Regis' victory.
 
Friday's game featured eight ties and 10 lead changes, with four of the ties and six lead changes coming in the second half.
 
CSU Pueblo jumped out to 14-8 lead just a little over five minutes into the game and led 17-13 when Regis used an 8-0 run keyed by five points from Brayden Carter to take a 21-17 lead with 10:33 left in the opening half.
 
The Pack would respond with a 14-3 run over the next six-plus minutes to turn a four-point deficit into a 31-24 lead. That seven point lead was the largest for either team in the game. The run began with a lay-up from Thompson and capped by 3-pointer from Thompson with 4:05 remaining in the half.
 
Regis would close the first half on a 10-2 run to take a 34-33 lead at the half. The Pack are now 0-8 this season when trailing at the half.
 
The Rangers would open the second half on a 6-2 run to take a 40-35 lead with 16:39 left in the game. The five point lead was the largest for Regis in the game.
 
From that point, the Pack would answer back by scoring 13 of the next 19 points to take a 48-46 lead following a basket by Robinson with 11:41 left in the game. The run was keyed by six points from Cooper.
 
Following Robinson's basket that gave the Pack its 3-point lead, the Rangers used an 8-2 run capped by a back-to-back treys from Siemental to retake the lead at 54-50 with 8:53 remaining.
 
CSU Pueblo, though, would reel off nine straight points to retake the lead at 59-54 with 6:27 left in the game. After a basket by Simental stopped the Pack's run, CSU Pueblo would score three of the next four points to take a 62-57 lead with 4:54 remaining.
 
Regis would answer back by scoring 11 of the next 14 points to push out to a 68-65 lead with 53 seconds left. Morris and Payne would then score back-to-back baskets to give the Pack a 69-68 lead with 20 seconds left.
 
In addition to Simental, Carter added 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Eddy Egun added 11 points in the win.
 
For the game, CSU Pueblo shot 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from the 3-point line, while Regis shot 48 percent from the field and 41 percent from the 3-point line.
 
The Pack, though, struggled from the free throw line as they were 9-for-15 (60 percent) at the line, including an 8-for-13 effort at the line after halftime. Regis was 17-for-19 (89.5 percent) at the line, including a 16-for-17 effort in the second half.
 
Regis held a 33-23 edge on the boards, but CSU Pueblo forced 14 turnovers by the Rangers and turned those 14 turnovers into 21 points. CSU Pueblo had nine turnovers in the game.
 
The Pack also blocked five shots, including three by Payne and dished out 11 assists. Regis had four blocks and 10 assists in the win.
 
CSU Pueblo, who is off on Saturday, will look to rebound next Friday, Feb. 3 as they travel to Durango, Colo., for a 7:30 p.m. game against 17th-ranked Fort Lewis College. FLC picked up a 69-65 win in Pueblo earlier this season.