PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball concludes its pre-Christmas schedule this weekend by playing a home game on Friday and a non-conference exhibition contest on Sunday at 17th-ranked Colorado State.
 
The ThunderWolves open the weekend with a 7:30 p.m. Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game against South Dakota Mines, before traveling to Fort Collins, Colo., for a 4 p.m. exhibition game against the nationally ranked Rams in the Pack's final non-conference tilt of the 2023-24 season.
 
CSU Pueblo, who has won six of its last eight games, enters Friday's game with South Dakota Mines sporting a 6-4 overall record and a 2-2 mark in the RMAC after splitting road games last weekend with a 103-97 win at Adams State and a 97-64 loss at then 20th-ranked Fort Lewis. The Pack opened league play by splitting home games with Chadron State, an 84-82 loss and earning a 73-70 win over Colorado Christian.
 
Friday's game will mark the seventh home game of the season for the Pack as they are 5-1 at home, including being 1-1 at home in RMAC play.
 
The Pack is offering FREE ADMISSION to anyone that brings a new, unwrapped toy to the game. The toys will be donated to the Pueblo Bikers United Toy Drive.

ABOUT THE PACK
The Pack enters this weekend's final two games of its pre-Christmas schedule with four players averaging in double figures on the season as senior guard Brevin Walter (Las Vegas, Nev./South Dakota Mines) leads the way offensively at 19.0 points per game after scoring a total of 51 points in last weekend's road games, including tallying a Pack season-high 36 points in the win at Adams State. Walter is also averaging 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field, 32 percent from the 3-point line and 86 percent from the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in five straight games and is averaging 25.0 points per game in RMAC play.
 
In addition to Walter, senior guard Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College) is second in scoring at 14.4 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 6.1 board per game. In addition, he is averaging 3.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game and has a 1.44 assist/turnover ratio and is shooting 53 percent from the field, 47 percent from the 3-point line and 74 percent from the free throw line and has scored in double figures in four straight games, including a career-high 30 points last Friday at Adams State. In four RMAC games, Morris is averaging 18.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
 
The other two double-digit scorers for the Pack are junior guard Daeyon James (Stockbridge, Ga./Seward County CC) and junior guard Armon Muldrew (Perris, Calif./San Bernardino Valley). James is averaging 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 42 percent from the field, 43 percent from the 3-point line and 82 percent at the free throw line and leads the RMAC in made treys per game as he is averaging 3.2 treys per game, while Muldrew is averaging 10.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field and 40 percent from the 3-point line.
 
Coming into this weekend's play, the Pack continue to be one of the top 3-point field goal percentage defensive teams in the RMAC and in NCAA Division II men's basketball as the Pack lead the RMAC and are 10th nationally in 3-point field goal defense at 26.7 percent. The Pack's opponents are 56-for-210 from the 3-point line on the season. The Pack's opponents are making 5.6 treys per game and have shot over 40 percent from the 3-point line just one time as Fort Lewis was 11-for-25 (44 percent) from the 3-point line.
 
Despite allowing 97 points in each of its two games last weekend, the Pack come into the weekend among one of the top defensive teams in the league as they still lead in field goal percentage defense (41.1 percent) and are third in the RMAC in turnovers forced per game (16.40), and fourth in scoring defense (69.5 ppg). In addition, the Pack is fourth in the league in scoring margin (+7.5), second in the league in turnover margin (+3.2) and fourth in fouls per game (15.7).
 
The Pack are allowing 69.5 points per game, which is fourth-best in the RMAC and they have held four of its first 10 opponents under 65 points and the Pack is 20-4 when holding opponents to 65 or fewer points since the beginning of the 2019-20 season, including being 12-0 since last season when holding opponents to 65 or less points in a game.
 
Offensively, the Pack are scoring 77.0 points per game and have scored over 70 points in seven of 10 games, including topping the century mark two times and is shooting 43 percent from the field, 39 percent from the 3-point line and 67 percent from the free throw. They are getting outrebounded by 3.8 boards per game and are averaging 14.2 assists, 7.8 steals and 2.4 blocks per game.

CSU Pueblo is coached by Matt Hammer, who is in his fifth season as the Pack's men's basketball coach. In his four-plus seasons leading the Pack, Hammer has compiled a 44-68 record and is 30-57 in RMAC games.
  
ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
South Dakota Mines comes into this weekend's action sporting a 4-6 overall record and a 2-2 mark in the RMAC after dropping home games last weekend against both Mines (66-65) and MSU Denver (95-87). The Hardrockers have lost two straight games since a three-game winning streak that included two wins at UCCS (70-68) and Regis (82-64) to open RMAC play. The win streak began with a 77-69 road win at Black Hills State in a non-conference game.
 
The Hardrockers have been strong on the road this season as they are 3-1 away from home this season with the lone loss being a 71-46 setback at MSU Billings. Since that loss, South Dakota Mines has reeled off three straight road wins, including being 2-0 on the road in RMAC play.
 
South Dakota Mines, who was tabbed to finish 11th in the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll as they earned 62 points, comes into Friday's action as one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the RMAC as the Hardrockers are shooting 35.8 percent from long distance, which is fifth-best in the league. In addition, they are also fifth in the league in 3-pointers made per game as they are making 8.8 per game and led the RMAC in turnovers per game as they are turning the ball over just 10.6 times per game.
 
The Hardrockers are also one of the top defensive teams in the league as they are fifth in the RMAC in scoring defense as they are allowing 70.5 points per game and are also among the top teams in the league in both 3-point field goal defense (29.0 percent) and field goal percentage defense (43.2 percent). South Dakota Mines is third in the league in 3-point field goal percentage defense and seventh in field goal percentage defense.
 
Offensively, South Dakota Mines is averaging 70.1 points per game and are shooting 42 percent from the field, 36 percent from the 3-point line and 71 percent at the free throw line.
 
The Hardrockers have two of the Top 10 scorers in the league on the season as fifth-year senior guard Alejandro Rama is fourth in the league in scoring at 19.0 points per game, while junior guard Cameron Cohn is ninth in the RMAC in scoring at 15.8 points per game. In addition to Rama and Cohn, the Hardrockers have two other players averaging in double figures this season as graduate student guard Kolton Frugoli is averaging 12.2 points per game and senior guard Keagan Smith is averaging 11.0 points per game on the year.
 
Along with leading the team in scoring, Rama is also averaging 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.5 blocks per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 74 percent at the free throw line. Rama is also second in the league in made treys per game (2.9), second in the league in both steals (23) and blocked shots (15).
 
The Hardrockers are coached by Eric Glenn, who is in his sixth season with at South Dakota Mines and has posted a 61-83 overall record at the school. Prior to becoming the Hardrockers coach, Glenn, who played collegiately at Chadron State, spent 13 seasons as an assistant coach at South Dakota Mines under former coach Jason Henry.
 
Friday's game with South Dakota Mines marks the first of two meetings this season between the two schools as the Pack travels to Rapid City, S.D., for game on Jan. 26. Friday's game will mark the 12th all-time meeting between the two schools with South Dakota Mines holding a 7-4 edge in the series. The Pack is 4-2 in the series at home, but South Dakota Mines leads the series 5-0 on its home court. The teams split their meetings last season as the Pack won 67-54 in Massari Arena on Jan. 20, 2023, and fell 81-76 in overtime at South Dakota Mines on Dec. 16, 2022.
 
ABOUT COLORADO STATE
Colorado State comes into Sunday's home game with CSU Pueblo ranked No. 17 and No. 18 in this week's latest AP Poll and USA Today Coaches' Poll. The Rams, who are members of the Mountain West Conference, have gotten off to a strong start this season as they are currently sporting a 9-1 overall record with their lone loss being a 64-61 setback this past Saturday to Saint Mary's (Calif.). That loss snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Rams, which was the program's fourth longest in program history. Among the Rams key wins this season was a 69-48 rout of then No. 8 ranked Creighton in the Hall of Fame Classic held at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. 
 
The Rams have been strong at home this season as they are 5-1 in Moby Arena and Sunday's game with the Pack will close a three-game homestand for the Rams. 
 
CSU has four players averaging in double figures as graduate student guard Isaiah Stevens, who was named the Preseason Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and is also on the Wooden Top 50 Preseason List, is averaging 17.5 points and 7.5 assists per game and is shooting 52 percent from the field, 40 percent from the 3-point line and 81 percent at the free throw line. 
 
The other double-digit scorers for the Rams are graduate student forward Joel Scott (13.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg), who was the 2022-23 D2CCA National Player of the Year and a two-time RMAC Player of the Year, while graduate student forward Patrick Cartier is averaging 12.7 points per game and senior guard Nique Clifford is averaging 12.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. 
Colorado State is coached by Nico Medved, who is in his sixth season at Colorado State and has compiled a 101-65 record with the Rams and is one of five coaches in program history to reach the 100 wins mark. Along with his five years at CSU, Medved also spent one season as the head coach at Drake and four seasons as the head coach at Furman. He has an all-time head coaching record of 180-152 in 11 years as a collegiate coach. 
 
Sunday's game marks the eighth-time meeting between the two schools on the hardwood with Colorado State holding a 7-0 edge in the series. The two schools haven't played each other since the 2020-21 season as the Pack fell 89-77 to the Rams on Dec. 12, 2020, in Fort Collins, Colo. All seven of the previous games in the series have been played in Fort Collins.
 
UP NEXT
Following Sunday's game with Colorado State, the Pack will take time off the holidays, including the NCAA Division II's seven-day mandatory break from all activities from Dec. 20-27, before returning to campus to begin practice for the start of their second-half schedule that begins with a 7:30 p.m. game on Friday, Jan. 5 at eighth-ranked Colorado Mesa.