PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo will hit the road for the final time in the 2022-23 regular season this weekend (Feb. 17-18) as they play back-to-back Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contests at Westminster and 17th-ranked Colorado Mesa.
 
The ThunderWolves will open the weekend with a 5 p.m. game on Friday, Feb. 17 in Salt Lake, Utah, against Westminster, before traveling to Grand Junction, Colo., for a 7:30 p.m. game on Saturday, Feb. 18 against nationally ranked Colorado Mesa.
 
With two weeks left in the regular season, CSU Pueblo is currently sitting in a three-way tie for ninth place in the RMAC standings with a 7-11 record. The Pack are tied with MSU Denver, and South Dakota Mines and those three teams are a half-game behind eighth place Regis, who is 8-11 in league play and one game behind seventh place New Mexico Highlands, who is 8-10 in RMAC play. The top eight teams in the RMAC standings at the conclusion of the regular season advance to the RMAC Tournament, which will begin with quarterfinal games on Feb. 28.
 
Along with sporting a 7-11 mark in the RMAC, the Pack comes into the weekend with an 11-13 overall record as they have lost five of its last six games with the lone win being a 77-58 home win last Friday against Colorado Christian. The win over CCU snapped a season-high four-game losing skid for the Pack.
 
The weekend's final two road games of the 2022-23 regular season will mark the 10th and 11th road games this season for the Pack as they are 2-7 away from home on the season and the Pack have dropped three straight road games since earning a 68-66 win at New Mexico Highlands on Jan. 10. All nine of the Pack's road games this season have come in RMAC play.
 
ABOUT CSU PUEBLO
The ThunderWolves, who have lost eight of its 13 games by seven or fewer points, have four players averaging in double figures on the season as sophomore guard Lian Ramiro (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) leads the way the offensively at 13.4 points per game and is also averaging 2.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game and is shooting 39 percent from the field and 85 percent from the free throw line. Ramiro is coming off a 24-point game last time out against Chadron State and those 24 points allowed him to become the 27th member of the Pack's 1,000-Point Club as he has now scored 1,009 points, which is tied for 26th on the school's all-time scoring chart.
 
In addition to Ramiro, sophomore forward Isaiah Thompson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Fountain-Fort Carson) is averaging 11.5 points and an RMAC-leading 9.5 rebounds per game and has posted four straight double-doubles and is second in the league in double-doubles with nine. Thompson, who was named this week's RMAC Defensive Player of the Week, is averaging 15.6 points and 12.2 rebounds per game over his last five games and has pulled down double-digit rebounds in five of his last seven games and 11 times overall on the season.
 
The other two double-digit scorers for the Pack are junior guard Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College) and senior forward Meekness Payne (Phoenix, Ariz./University of New Hampshire). Morris is averaging 10.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 42 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 81 percent from the free throw line, while Payne is averaging 10.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and is shooting 45 percent from the field, 36 percent from the 3-point line and leads the team in blocks with 22.
 
As a team, CSU Pueblo continues to be on the better scoring defensive teams in the RMAC as they are third in scoring defense at 68.3 points per game. In addition, the Pack is second in the RMAC in 3-point field goal defense as their opponents are shooting 32.9 percent from long distance and are fifth in the league in opponents field goal percentage defense (43.4 percent).
 
Another strength this season for the Pack is their ability to block shots as they are fourth in the RMSAC in blocked shots as they are averaging 3.5 blocks per game. Four players have had 10 or more blocks on the year as along with Payne's 22, senior forward Elijah Moleon (Killeen, Texas/Angelo State) is second with 16 blocks. Sophomore forward De'Shaun Cooper (Poway, Calif./Balboa School) is third with 14 blocks and Thompson has recorded 10 blocks.
 
CSU Pueblo is coached by Matt Hammer, who is in his fourth season as the Pack's men's basketball coach. In his three-plus seasons leading the Pack, Hammer has compiled a 37-61 record and is 28-52 in RMAC games. He has led the Pack to at least 12 wins in two of his first three seasons and is one win shy of achieving the feat for the third time in four seasons.
 
ABOUT WESTMINSTER
Westminster enters Friday's home contest with CSU Pueblo sporting a 10-14 overall record and are 9-9 in the RMAC standing. The Griffins have won four of their last five games with the lone loss being an 84-59 setback last Saturday at MSU Denver. In fact, since suffering a 70-66 loss at CSU Pueblo on New Year's Eve, Westminster has posted a 7-4 record. The Griffins have been strong at home this season as they are 9-2 on its home court and have won eight straight on its home court since suffering a 79-73 loss to Colorado School of Mines on Dec. 3.
 
As a team, the Griffins are one of the top teams in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 48.1 percent from the field, which is fourth-best in the league. In addition, Westminster is also fourth in the RMAC in field goal percentage defense (43.1 percent) and fourth in rebound margin at +4.2. The Griffins are averaging 73.4 points per game and are allowing 73.3 points per game.
 
Leading the way offensively is junior forward/center Trey Farrer, who is averaging 17.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game and leads the team in blocks with 19 and is shooting 59 percent from the field and 76 percent from the free throw line. Farrer is fifth in the league in both free throws made (114) and free throws attempted (151).
In addition to Farrer, senior guard Taylor Martin is averaging 12.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game and is shooting 46 percent from the field and 82 percent from the 3-point line. He is second in the league in steals (1.7 per game) and has recorded 41 steals.
 
Junior guard Donavel Avila is averaging 11.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 50 percent from the field, while freshman guard Jeremy Dowdell is averaging 10.1 points per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field, 42 percent from downtown and 85 percent from the line.
 
Westminster is coached by Norm Parrish, who is in his eighth season with the Griffins and has compiled a 100-79 overall record and has led the program to four seasons of winning at least 14 games.
 
Friday's game marks the second meeting this season between the two schools as the Pack held a 39-31 halftime lead and then survived a second half rally by the Griffins as CSU Pueblo picked up a 70-66 win. The Pack, who has won three straight games in the series, leads the all-time series, 7-6 and the series is tied at 5-5 over the last 10 games. CSU Pueblo holds a 4-2 record at home and leads 4-3 in Salt Lake City.
 
ABOUT COLORADO MESA
Colorado Mesa, who hosts New Mexico Highlands on Friday before facing the Pack on Saturday, comes into play this weekend having won five straight games and 15 of its last 16 games overall with the lone loss being a 70-63 setback at Westminster on Jan. 24. The loss to Westminster snapped a 10-game win streak for the Mavericks. Mesa is sporting a 20-4 overall record and is 15-3 in the RMAC and is ranked 17th in this week's latest NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll. The Mavs three losses in league play have come at Westminster and at home to open league play against Mines (74-62) and MSU Denver (84-78).
 
The Mavericks success this season can be attributed to a defense that leads the league in scoring defense as they allow 64.8 points per game and leads the league in steals (8.8), turnovers forced per game (14.9) and rebound margin (+6.7). The Mavs are also second in the league in field goal percentage defense (42.4 percent) and are fourth in the league in 3-point field goal percentage defense (33.3 percent).
 
Offensively, Mesa is also one of the top shooting teams in the league as they are second in the RMAC and 13th nationally in field goal percentage as they shoot 50.1 percent from the field and are second in the league and 10th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage as they are shooting 40.5 percent from downtown. Mesa also averaged 8.8 3-pointers per game and is outscoring foes by 11.4 points per game, which is fourth-best in the league.
 
Leading the way offensively for the Mavericks is redshirt sophomore guard Blaise Threatt, who is averaging 18.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game and is shooting 53 percent from the field, 49 percent from the 3-point line and 76 percent from the free throw line. Threatt has a 1.49 assist/turnover ratio and is also averaging 1.7 steals per game.
The other double-digit score for Mesa is redshirt sophomore forward Trevor Baskin, who is averaging 14.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and has blocked 29 shots and is shooting 58 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free throw line.
 
Mesa is coached by Mike DeGeorge, who is in his fifth season with the Mavericks and has compiled a 107-36 record at Colorado Mesa and is 302-284 in his 22nd season as a collegiate head coach. Last season, DeGeorge led the Mavs to a school record 26 wins and a No. 1 ranking in the nation en route to earning RMAC and Region Coach of the Year honors.  
 
Saturday's game with Mesa marks the second meeting this season between the two schools as Mesa picked up a 67-60 win in Pueblo on Dec. 30. In that game, both teams shot 50 percent or better from the field and Mesa outscored the Pack, 36-32 in the second half. Mesa holds a 15-10 lead all-time in the series and the Mavs have won five straight games in the series. Mesa holds a 7-5 edge in Pueblo and leads 8-5 on its home court.