DENVER, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball struggles on the road continued here Saturday as the ThunderWolves dropped its third straight road contest in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play following a 69-63 setback to MSU Denver at the Auraria Events Center.
 
With the setback, CSU Pueblo fell to 7-8 overall and 3-6 in league play, while MSU Denver won its second straight game to improve to 6-8 overall and 3-5 in RMAC play.
 
Sophomore forward Isaiah Thompson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Fountain-Fort Carson) posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, while senior guard/forward Meekness Payne (Phoenix, Ariz./University of New Hampshire) scored a team-high 14 points and sophomore guard Lian Ramiro (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) added 11 points.
 
The ThunderWolves, who trailed 30-27 at the half, held a 44-43 lead with 8:32 left in the game following a lay-up by Thompson. MSU Denver, though, used back-to-back baskets from Jaden Kennis and Quave Propst-Allison to retake the lead at 47-43.
 
CSU Pueblo would tie the game on its next trip down the court thanks to 3-pointer from junior guard Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College). The two teams would then trade points to retie the game at 49 with 6:49 remaining.
 
MSU Denver answered back four straight points to retake the lead at 53-49 with a little over five minutes left in the game. On the Pack's ensuing trip downcourt, Payne drilled a trey from the top of the key to help pull the ThunderWolves move within a point at 53-52.
 
That would be as close as CSU Pueblo would get as MSU Denver used a 10-2 run over the next three-plus minutes to push its lead to 63-54.
 
After freshman guard Sam Howery (Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary's) made a lay-up with 1:07 left in the game to pull the Pack within 63-56, Yaw Reneer hit two free throws to give the home team a 65-56 lead with 57 seconds left.
 
Payne would connect on another trey with 51 seconds left to pull the Pack within six at 65-59, but MSU Denver would close the game by hitting four of its final six free throws to hold off the Pack and seal the victory.
 
The Pack jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the opening five minutes of Saturday's game, before MSU Denver used a 12-4 run to take a 12-10 lead with 12:36 left in the opening half.
 
CSU Pueblo would tie game about 49 seconds later on a basket by sophomore forward De'Shaun Cooper (Poway, Calif./Balboa School), but the Roadrunners responded with a 10-4 run to push out to a 22-14 lead with 7:03 left in the half.
 
The Pack, though, would answer back as they used a 13-5 run keyed by five points from Thompson and capped by a lay-up from Ramiro to tie the game at 27 with 49 seconds left. MSU Denver, though, got a trey from Tyrei Randall with 38 seconds left in the period to give the home team a 30-27 halftime lead.
 
Randall paced MSU Denver with 15 points, while Kennis added 14 points and Caleb McGlll tallied 13 points.
 
For the game, CSU Pueblo shot 42 percent from the field, but was just 5-for-16 (31.3 percent) from the 3-point line. MSU Denver finished the game shooting 40.8 percent from the field and 31 percent (5-for-16) from long distance.
 
The biggest difference in the game came on the boards as MSU Denver held a 37-26 edge on the glass, including a 14-9 advantage on the offensive boards. Those 14 offensive boards led to an 11-4 edge in second chance points for the Roadrunners.
 
Both teams committed 17 turnovers for the game and CSU Pueblo had nine assists to seven for MSU Denver.
 
The teams also combined to shoot 51 free throws in the game as MSU Denver was 24-for-30 (80 percent) from the free throw line, including a 19-for-23 effort at the line in the second half. The Pack shot 21 free throws as they were 16-for-21 (76.2 percent) at the line.  
 
CSU Pueblo will look to rebound as they complete its current three-game road swing on Tuesday, Jan. 10 as they travel to Las Vegas, Nev., for a 7 p.m. RMAC contest against New Mexico Highlands.