PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball snapped its four-game winning streak here Friday evening as the ThunderWolves late game rally against Chadron State fell two points short as the Eagles came away with an 84-82 win in both teams Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener at Massari Arena.
 
With the loss, the Pack fall to 4-3 overall and 0-1 in the RMAC, while Chadron State improves to 3-3 overall and 1-0 in the league. The Pack will look to get back on track Saturday evening as they host Colorado Christian in a 6 p.m. game to conclude a six-game homestand.
 
The Pack, who trailed by 10 at the half and was down 78-67 with 3:53 left in the game, rallied to tie three times in the final 90-plus seconds of the game, before CSC used a driving lay-up by Bryce Latimer with 3.2 seconds left to give the Eagles an 84-82 lead. On the ensuing in-bounds play, the Pack got the ball into the hands of senior guard Brevin Walter (Las Vegas, Nev./South Dakota Mines), but he was unable to get a shot up as the buzzer sounded.
 
Walter was one the big catalyst for the Pack's late game comeback as the South Dakota Mines transfer scored 10 of his game-high 26 points over the final 3:53 of the game, including a lay-up with 57 seconds left to tie the game at 80 and two free throws with 18 seconds left to tie the game at 82. Six of Walter's final 10 points came at the free throw line as he finished the game 12-for-14 at the line.
 
In the second half, the Pack outscored the Eagles, 47-39 as Walter scored 19 of his points after halftime, while junior forward De'Shaun Cooper (Poway, Calif./Balboa School) scored eight of his 16 points in the second half.
 
The 26-point game by Walter was a season-high for a Pack player and marked his 22nd career 20 point game in his collegiate career. Walter scored over 1,200 points in the three seasons he played at fellow RMAC school, South Dakota Mines.
 
CSU Pueblo led 5-2 early in the game and held a 14-13 lead following a 3-pointer by freshman forward Ty Adam (Severance, Colo./Severance) which would be the final lead of the game for the Pack as CSC would score 32 of the final 53 points of the first half, including closing the half on an 8-0 lead to take a 45-35 lead at halftime.
 
Both teams were hot shooting the basketball in the first half as the Pack shot 50 percent from the field, but the leading 3-point shooting team in the league was just 2-for-9 from downtown in the opening 20 minutes. CSC was even better shooting the ball as they shot 55 percent from the field and 44 percent from the 3-point line against the league's top 3-point shooting defensive team.
 
The Eagles would push its halftime lead to as much as 13 points at 51-38 just two-plus minutes into the second half. The Pack, though, would rally as they used an 18-11 run capped by lay-up from Walter to pull within 62-56 with 10:04 left in the game.
 
CSC would answer back with a 16-11 run to extend its lead back out to 78-67 with 3:53 left in the game. The run began with a basket by Latimer and was capped by two free throws by Dalton Peterson.
 
Following Peterson's free throws, the Pack mounted its late game rally as it started with two free throws by junior guard Armon Muldrew (Perris, Calif./San Bernardino Valley).
 
In addition to Walter and Cooper, Muldrew scored 11 points, while senior guard Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College) added 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and four steals.

The Eagles held junior guard Daeyon James (Stonebridge, Ga./Seward County CC) to a season-low six points as he entered the game averaging nearly 17 points per game on the season. 
 
Latimer and Josh Robinson combined for 44 points in the win for the Eagles as Latimer scored 25 points, including tallying 15 points in the second half and Robinson added 19 points in the win. Robinson scored 16 of those points in the first half for the Eagles.
 
The Pack struggled on the boards against CSC as they were outrebounded, 39-26, including collecting 17 offensive boards.
 
CSU Pueblo forced CSC into 11 turnovers that led to six points, while CSC scored nine points off seven Pack turnovers. The Pack had 14 turnovers and blocked three shots in the game.
 
The Pack scored 50 points in the paint and held a 38-21 edge in bench points in the loss.
 
For the game, the Pack finished the night shooting a season-high 52 percent from the field but shot a season-low 20 percent (3-for-15) from the 3-point line. The Pack entered the game shooting an RMAC-best 41.6 percent from the 3-point line and was making a league-best 11.5 treys per game.
 
Meanwhile, Chadron State finished the night shooting 50 percent from the field and was 31 percent (5-for-16) from the 3-point line. The Pack entered the game leading leading NCAA Division II in 3-point field goal defense as their opponents were shooting 17.9 percent from long distance.
 
The Pack were strong at the line in the game as they shot 72 percent from the free throw line as they were 21-for-29 at the line, including going 16-for-21 at the line in the second half. CSC was 13-for-18 (72.2 percent) at the line.
 
CSU Pueblo will close out its season-long six-game homestand on Saturday night with a 6 p.m. RMAC tilt against Colorado Christian. CCU opened league play with a 72-63 loss Friday at New Mexico Highlands.