ALAMOSA, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball did something here Friday evening it hasn't done since Jan. 10, 2023 and that is win a road game in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play as the ThunderWolves had two players score 30 or more points en route to earning an impressive 103-97 victory over Adams State at Plachy Hall.
Friday's win snapped a five-game road losing skid in RMAC and a seven-game road losing skid overall as the Pack's prior road win before Friday night came in Las Vegas, N.M., against New Mexico Highlands on Jan. 10, 2023. The Pack won that game 68-66 over the Cowboys.
Friday's win wasn't easy as the Pack had to withstand a furious second-half rally by the Grizzlies, who were playing their first home game of the 2023-24 season. The Pack, who led 56-47 at the half, watched the Grizzlies get as close as six points at 93-87 with 3:08 left in the game.
The victory was the second straight for the Pack as they improved their record to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in the RMAC, while Adams State fell to 2-7 overall and 0-3 in the league.
Friday's win was aided by the offensive play from senior guards
Brevin Walter (Las Vegas, Nev./South Dakota Mines) and
Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College) as those two combined for 66 points as Walter scored 36 points and added seven rebounds and five assists, while Morris scored a career-high 30 points and added four rebounds, and two assists.
The 30-point game by Walter was the fifth of his collegiate career and the most points scored by a Pack player since Jason Anderson scored 36 points against Western Colorado on Dec. 16, 2017.
It is believed to be the first time two Pack players scored 30 points in a game in at least 12 seasons, but complete game-by-game scoring records were not readily available after the game.
The third double-digit scorer for the Pack was junior forward
De'Shaun Cooper (Poway, Calif./Balboa School) as he tallied 16 points and had five rebounds.
In the opening half, both teams shot over 50 percent from the field as the Pack shot 58 percent from the floor and made seven 3-pointers as they shot 54 percent from the 3-point line to push out to a 56-47 lead at the half.
Morris and Walter combined for 39 of the Pack's 56 first-half points.
The Pack would see their halftime lead drop to one point following a basket by Austin Fadal just two-plus minutes into the second half to turn a nine-point deficit to just one point at 56-55.
Following that run by the Grizzlies to open the second half, the Pack responded with a 10-1 run to push its lead to 66-55 following a fast-break lay-up by junior guard
Armon Muldrew (Perris, Calif./San Bernardino Valley) with 15:12 left in the game.
The lead would stay around 5-7 points over the next five minutes before the Grizzlies used a 7-1 run capped by a turn-around jump shot by Fadal to pull within 82-78 with 6:53 left in the game.
CSU Pueblo, though, answered right by scoring nine of the next 10 points and capped the run with a dunk by Cooper with 4:55 remaining to give the Pack a 91-79 lead. ASU would mount another rally as they answered the dunk by Copper with a 8-2 run capped by a basket from Isaiah Sampson to drop the Pack's lead to 93-87 with 3:08 remaining.
Back-to-back treys by Walter pushed the Pack's lead to 99-89 with 1:31 left and the Pack would hit the century mark for the second time this season on a free throw by Walter with 58 seconds remaining.
The Pack would hold off the Grizzlies down the stretch by three of their final four throws set the final margin and win its second straight game. ASU outscored the Pack, 50-47 in the second half.
Sampson led the way offensively for the Grizzlies with 21 points and added eight rebounds. Fadal chipped in with 19 points and Destan Williams added 14 points in the loss. John Harge and Kolby Walker each scored 12 points off the bench as ASU held a 31-15 edge in bench points in Friday's game.
For the game, the Pack shot a season-high 52 percent from the field and a season-high 61 percent (14-for-23) from the 3-point line, while ASU finished the game shooting 53 percent from the field and 35 percent (8-for-23) from the 3-point line.
The Pack entered the game leading the RMAC and were in Division II in three-point field goal defense at 22.8 percent.
CSU Pueblo held a 41-33 edge on the boards, including collecting 11 offensive boards that led to 15 second chance points. The Pack also had 17 assists and committed 18 turnovers.
Adams State had 15 assists and committed 11 turnovers. The Grizzlies also scored 24 points off the Pack's turnovers.
Both teams combined to shoot 56 free throws in the game, including 34 free throws in the second half. The Pack were 23-for-35 (65.7 percent) at the line, including Walter going 11-for-14 at the line, while ASU was 15-for-21 (71 percent) at the line in the loss. The teams were whistled for a combined 42 fouls.
The Pack will look to make it back-to-back road wins in league play on Saturday, Dec. 9 as they travel to Durango, Colo., for a 6 p.m. game against 20th-ranked Fort Lewis. Fort Lewis improved to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in the RMAC with a 91-77 home win over New Mexico Highlands.
