PUEBLO, Colo. – The Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball hits the road for the first time in nearly a month this weekend as the ThunderWolves open the road portion of its Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedule with games at Adams State and 20th-ranked Fort Lewis.
 
The Pack will begin its road trip on Friday, Dec. 8 with a 7:30 p.m. contest in Alamosa, Colo., against Adams State, before concluding the road swing on Saturday, Dec. 9 with a 6 p.m. game in Durango, Colo., against Fort Lewis.
 
CSU Pueblo, who has won five of its last six games, enters the weekend sporting a 5-3 overall record and a 1-1 mark in the RMAC after opening league play with an 84-82 loss to Chadron State last Friday and then collected a 73-70 win over Colorado Christian on Saturday.
 
This weekend's two road games will mark the first two games away from Massari Arena since opening the 2023-24 season with games at Midwestern State and Cameron. The Pack are 0-2 away from home this season and have dropped seven straight games on the road since earning a 68-66 win at New Mexico Highlands on Jan. 10, 2023.
 
ABOUT THE PACK
The Pack enters this weekend's action 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 15.8 points per game after scoring 26 and 23 points respectively in last weekend's games with Chadron State and Colorado Christian. Walter is also averaging 3.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and is shooting 42 percent from the field and 87 percent from the free throw line.
 
In addition to Walter, junior guard Daeyon James (Stockbridge, Ga./Seward County CC) is the team's No. 2 scorer as he is averaging 14.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field, 45 percent from the 3-point line and 82 percent at the free throw line and is making a league-best 3.8 treys per game on the year.
 
The other two double-digit scorers for the Pack heading into the weekend are senior guard Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College) and junior guard Armon Muldrew (Perris, Calif./San Bernardino Valley). Morris, who was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 27, is third in scoring at 12.5 points per game, but leads the team in rebounding (6.1 rpg), assists (4.1 apg) and steals (2.8 spg) and is shooting 49 percent from the field, 36 percent from the 3-point line and has a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio, while Muldrew is averaging 10.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 40 percent from the field and 37 percent from the 3-point line.
 
Coming into this weekend's action, the Pack continue to be one of the top defensive teams in Division II men's basketball as the Pack leads the RMAC and is 11th nationally in Division II in scoring defense as they are allowing 62.6 points and have held four of their last six foes under 60 points. In addition, the Pack leads the league and is 13th nationally in field goal percentage defense (38.6 percent) and lead the RMAC and are second in Division II in three-point field goal percentage defense (22.8 percent). Additionally, the Pack leads the RMAC in scoring margin (+12.8), turnover margin (+5.6),  and turnovers forced per game (17.8).

Along with being strong at defending the 3-point shot, the Pack are also one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the league as they enter the weekend sitting second in the league in both three-point field goal percentage (37.8 percent) and 3-pointers made per game (9.5). The Pack has made 10 or more treys in a game four times, including a season-high of 15 against Oklahoma Panhandle State.

Offensively, the Pack are scoring 75.4 points per game and have scored over 70 points in six of eight games and is shooting 44 percent from the field and 69 percent from the free throw. They are getting outrebounded by 4.8 boards per game and are averaging 14.3 assists, 8.4 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 43-67 record and is 29-56 in RMAC games.

ABOUT ADAMS STATE
Adams State comes into this weekend's action having dropped six straight games to move its record to 2-6 overall and 0-2 in the RMAC after opening league play with a 77-76 overtime loss last Friday at Western Colorado and falling100-80 on Tuesday at No. 20 Fort Lewis. The Grizzlies opened the season with back-to-back wins against UT Permian Basin (70-67) and Western New Mexico (78-73), before losing its last six games. Friday's game with the Pack will be the first home game this season for the Grizzlies.
 
One of the biggest strengths this season for the Grizzlies is their ability to get to the free throw line and make free throws as they are second in the league in free throw shooting at 79.1 percent as they are 136-for-172 at the line. ASU averages 17 made free throws per game, which is fourth-best in the league and they are attempting 21.5 free throws per game, which is fifth-best in the league. Seven regulars in the Grizzlies line-up are shooting over 75 percent from the line on the season.
 
As a team, the Grizzlies have had 10 players this season average over 11 minutes played per game and eight different players have started at least one game. The Grizzlies bench is averaging 28.1 points per game, which is fifth-best in the RMAC.
 
Offensively, ASU is averaging 72.9 points per game and are allowing 81.4 points per game. They are also shooting 44 percent from the field and 31 percent from the 3-point line and are making 6.4 treys per game. Defensively, the Grizzlies' opponents are shooting 51 percent from the field and 37 percent from the 3-point line and are getting outrebounded by 4.3 boards per game and are forcing just 14.8 turnovers per game.
 
Two Grizzlies average in double figures on the season as redshirt senior guard Destan Williams is averaging 17.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game and is shooting 49 percent from the field, 40 percent from the 3-point line and 91 percent (41-for-46) at the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in all eight games this season, including tallying 17 points in Tuesday's loss at Fort Lewis.
 
The other double-digit scorer for the Grizzlies is redshirt senior guard Austin Fadal, who is averaging 13.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 45 percent from the floor and 73 percent at the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in five games, including a high of 21 points against Western Colorado.
 
Williams and Fadal are the only two ASU players to start all eight game this season.
 
Adams State, who was tabbed to finish 14th in the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll, is coached by first-year head coach Kenny Tripp. Tripp comes to ASU after spending the past four seasons as an assistant men's basketball coach at the University of Idaho. Tripp, though, is no stranger to the RMAC as he spent one season as an assistant at MSU Denver and was a graduate assistant coach at Regis University.
 
Friday's game with Adams State marls the first of two meetings this season between the two schools as the Pack hosts Adams State at Massari Arena on Feb. 10. Friday's game will mark the 37th all-time meeting between the two schools with CSU Pueblo holding a 21-15 edge in the series. The two teams split their two meetings last season as the Pack won 77-54 in Pueblo on Dec. 9, 2022 and the Grizzlies earned an 80-68 win in Alamosa on Feb. 4, 2023. The series is tied 9-9 in Alamosa, while the Pack leads 12-6 in Pueblo.

ABOUT FORT LEWIS
Fort Lewis, who hosts New Mexico Highlands on Friday before facing the Pack on Saturday, comes into play this weekend ranked No. 20 in this week's latest NABC Division II Coaches' Poll. The Skyhawks are sporting a 6-1 overall record and a 2-0 mark in the RMC after opening league play with wins at Western Colorado (85-55) at home on Tuesday over Adams State (100-80). Fort Lewis has reeled off six consecutive wins since opening the season with a 77-69 loss to Angelo State.
 
The defending RMAC regular season and tournament Champions are one of the defensive teams in the league as they are second in scoring defense as they allow 68.3 points per game and are also second in forced turnovers per game as they are forcing 17.4 on the season. They also lead the league in blocked shots as they average 3.6 per game and are third in the league in rebounding at 38.0 boards per game.
 
Meanwhile, on offense, the Skyhawks are the top free throw shooting team in the league as they are making 81.3 percent of their free throws as they are making a league-best 17.4 free throws per game. The Skyhawks are averaging 81.9 points per game and are outscoring its foes by 13.6 points per game. Fort Lewis has scored over 80 points in four games, including scoring a season-high 100 points last time out against Adams State.
 
Much like ASU, Fort Lewis is strong at scoring off of its bench as they Skyhawks lead the league in bench scoring at 40.2 points per game, which is ninth-best in Division II. The Skyhawks have had 10 players play over 65 minutes on the season, including nine players playing over 114 minutes.
 
Junior guard Obi Agbim is one of two Skyhawks that are averaging in double figures on the season as Agbim is averaging 15.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field and 88 percent at the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in six games, including a high point game of 21 points against Eastern New Mexico.
 
The other Skyhawk averaging in double figures is junior forward Brayden Carter, who is a transfer from Regis. Carter, who has not yet started a game this season, is averaging 11.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game off the bench and is shooting 58 percent from the field and 84 percent from the free throw line. He has also recorded a double-double as he had 11 points and 15 rebounds against Eastern New Mexico.
 
Two other Skyhawk players are averaging over 8.5 points per game on the season as junior guard Samier Kinsler is averaging 9.1 points per game and senior guard Malik Whitaker is averaging 8.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
 
Fort Lewis also has two former ThunderWolves' playing in their rotation this season as junior guard Tristan Hurdle is the team's No. 5 scorer on the year as he is averaging 8.1 points per game and is shooting 56 percent from the field and 64 percent from the 3-point line, while junior forward Isaiah Thompson is averaging 4.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game on the season.
 
Fort Lewis, who was tabbed to finish second in the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll as they earned 177 points and four first place votes, is coached by Bob Pietrack. Pietrack is in his ninth season with the Skyhawks and has compiled a 165-72 overall record and has the highest winning percentage (.661) in school history.
 
Saturday's game marks the first of two meetings this season between the two schools as the Pack will host Fort Lewis in Massari Arena on Feb. 9. Fort Lewis leads the all-time series, 27-10 and has won five straight games in the series, including earning a 68-65 win last season in Durango in the team's most recent meeting. The last two meetings in the series have come down to one possession as the Pack fell at home last season to the Skyhawks, 69-65.