PUBELO, Colo. – The Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team opens the 2023 calendar year this coming weekend as the ThunderWolves play Rocky Mountain Conference games at seventh-ranked Colorado School of Mines and Metropolitan State University Denver.
 
CSU Pueblo will open the road trip with a 7 p.m. game on Friday, Jan. 6 in Golden, Colo., against Colorado School of Mines, before concluding the trip with a 6 p.m. game on Saturday, Jan. 7 in Denver, Colo., against Metro State.
 
The Pack comes into this weekend's action having dropped three of its last four games and are sporting a 7-6 overall record and a 3-4 mark in the RMAC after splitting home games last weekend to close out 2022 against Colorado Mesa, a 67-60 loss and a 70-66 win over Westminster (Utah) College. The win over Westminster snapped a three-game losing skid for the Pack.
 
Following this weekend's two games, the Pack will remain on the road as they travel to Las Vegas, N.M., for a 7 p.m. game on Tuesday, Jan. 10 against New Mexico Highlands.

This weekend's two road games will mark just the fourth and fifth road games this season for the Pack as the ThunderWolves are 1-2 away from home on the season with all three of those road contests coming in RMAC play. The team's lone road win this season was a 68-55 victory at Colorado Christian on Dec. 3.
 
ABOUT CSU PUEBLO
The Thunderwolves have three players averaging in double figures on the season as sophomore guard Lian Ramiro (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) leads the way as he is averaging 13.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game and is shooting 39 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in nine games and is coming off a 15 point performance in the win over Westminster.
 
In addition to Ramiro, senior guard/forward Meekness Payne (Phoenix, Ariz./New Hampshire) is averaging 12.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 51 percent from the field, a team-best 43 percent from the 3-point line and 72 percent from the free throw line. Payne has reached double figures in scoring in nine games, including posting two games of scoring 20 or more points.
 
The third double-digit scorer for the Pack is junior guard Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College). Morris is averaging 11.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game and leads the team in steals with 21 and made 3-pointers with 20. He is shooting 43 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 76 percent from the free throw line. He has scored in double digits in eight games and has a team season high of 25 points in the second game this season against Cameron.
 
Sophomore forward Isaiah Thompson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Fountain-Fort Carson) is just under double-digits in scoring as he is averaging 9.8 points per game, but leads the RMAC in rebounding at 9.1 rebounds per game and has had six games with double-digit rebounds and had tallied three double-doubles.
 
As a team, CSU Pueblo is second in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense as their opponents are shooting 31.7 percent from long distance. In addition, the Pack is second in the league in blocks per game (4.2), third in field goal percentage defense (42.1 percent), third in rebound margin (+6.9), fourth in both rebounds per game (37.4) and steals per game (7.8) and is fifth in field goal percentage (47.8 percent).
 
The Pack is averaging 76.1 points per game and are allowing 66.4 points per game and 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 33-54 overall record and is 24-45 in RMAC games.
 
ABOUT COLORADO MINES
Mines, who is ranked seventh in this week's latest NABC Division II Coaches Poll and 10th in the latest D2SIDA Media Poll, comes into Friday's action having won three straight games and 11 of its first 12 to open the 2022-23 season as the Orediggers lone loss came in overtime at Black Hills State (85-77) on Dec. 10. The Orediggers are in second place in the league standings as Black Hills State is the lone remaining undefeated team in the league.
 
The Orediggers are one of the top teams in the RMAC in both offense and defense as they lead the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.5), assists per game (16.8) and turnovers forced per game (15.0) and is second in the league in field goal percentage (50.0 percent), scoring margin (+15.4), scoring (82.2 points per game) and turnover margin (+3.6) and are third in the league in free throws made per game (17.1) and steals per game (7.9).
 
Leading the way offensively for Mines is redshirt senior forward Adam Thistlewood, who is averaging 16.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game and is shooting 51 percent from the field and 42 percent from the 3-point line. He has shot a team-leading 78 free throws and averages 6.0 free throw attempts per game. The Colorado State transfer has scored in double figures in 12 games, including four games of scoring 20 or more points.
 
Mines has three other players averaging in double figures on the season – redshirt senior guard/forward Brendan Sullivan, redshirt senior Stanford transfer guard Sam Beskind and redshirt senior guard Ben Boone.
 
Sullivan, who was a finalist for the 2020-21 NABC National Player of the Year and the 2020-21 RMAC Player of the Year, is averaging 14.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game and is shooting 54 percent from the field, 49 percent from the 3-point line and 84 percent at the free throw line, while Beskind is averaging 12.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game and is shooting 58 percent from the field, 42 percent from the 3-point line and 90 percent from the free throw line and Boone is averaging 10.3 points per game and is shooting 57 percent from the field and 40 percent from the 3-point line.
 
Mines is coached by Pryor Orser, who is in his 22nd season with the Orediggers. In his time with Mines, Orser has posted a 407-213 record and earned five RMAC Coach of the Year honors, led the team to five RMAC Championships, 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and two NCAA Elite Eight berths.  
 
Friday's game will mark the 66th all-time meeting between the two schools with CSU Pueblo holding a 36-29 edge in series. Mines, though, has won seven straight games in the series, including sweeping both meetings during the 2021-22 season. CSU Pueblo has lost three straight games in Golden and is 14-16 in the series on Mines' home court.
 
ABOUT METROPOLITAN STATE DENVER
The Roadrunners, who host New Mexico Highlands on Friday before facing the Pack on Saturday, comes into this week's play sporting a 4-8 overall record and a 1-5 mark in the RMAC. The Roadrunners have lost four straight games since picking up an 84-78 win at Colorado Mesa on Dec. 3. MSU's latest loss in this stretch was a 67-64 setback at Chadron State on Dec. 31 to close out the 2022 calendar year.
 
MSU Denver is averaging 75.7 points per game and are allowing 81.2 points per game on the season and is shooting 45 percent from the field, 36 percent from the 3-point line and 73.8 percent from the free throw line. The Roadrunners second in the league in both free throws made per game (17.6) and free throws attempted per game (23.8) and are third in the RMAC in offensive rebounds as they average nearly 11 offensive boards per contest and are fifth in the league in steals at 6.8 per game. Defensively, MSU's foes are shooting 48 percent from the field and 40 percent from the 3-point line.
 
The Roadrunners have three players averaging in double figures on the season as senior guard Tyrei Randall is leading the way offensively as he is averaging 15.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 38 percent from the floor, 30 percent from the 3-point line and 75 percent at the free throw line. He has been to the line 71 times in 12 games and is averaging 5.9 trips to the free throw line per game.
 
In addition to Randall, the other two double-digit scorers are sophomore forward Caleb McGill and redshirt freshman guard Jaden Kennis. McGill is averaging 14.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game and is shooting 57 percent from the field, 53 percent from the 3-point line and 82 percent at the free throw line and has blocked a team-best 14 shots, while Kennis is averaging 10.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field, 42 percent from the 3-point line and 82 percent at the line.

Dan Ficke, who is a Denver native, is in his first season as the MSU Denver head men's basketball coach. Ficke spent the past three seasons before going to MSU Denver as the head coach at Belmont Abbey (N.C.). In his three seasons at Belmont Abbey, Ficke went 61-25 and led the school to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and took home back-to-back Conference Carolinas Tournament titles in 2020-21 and 2021-22. 

Saturday's game will mark the 24th all-time meeting between the two schools as MSU Denver holds a 20-3 all-time lead in the series. The Roadrunners have won seven straight games in the series, including a 94-84 win last season in Pueblo, Colo., on Jan. 1, 2022.