GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - The road woes continued here Saturday evening for the Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team as the ThunderWolves suffered a 76-61 defeat at the hands of 17th-ranked Colorado Mesa in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action at Brownson Arena. 

With the setback, the Pack fall to 11-15 overall and 7-13 in the RMAC, while Mesa improved to 22-4 and 17-3 in the league. CSU Pueblo, who dropped its fifth straight road game on Saturday, finished the regular season with a 2-9 record on the road, all of which came in RMAC play.

Despite Saturday's loss, the Pack remains alive for a spot in the RMAC Tournament heading into the final week of the regular season as CSU Pueblo is 12th in the league standings, but is one game behind five teams that are tied for seventh place with 8-12 records. The Pack play two of those teams, UCCS and Regis, that are tied for seventh next weekend at home to conclude the regular season. The Pack will need to win both games and get some help from the other teams that are each sporting 8-12 records to earn a spot in the RMAC Tournament. 

In Saturday's game, the Pack struggled shooting the ball for the second straight night as one night after shooting a season-low 27 percent from the field and 18 percent from the 3-point line in its 87-49 loss at Westminster, the Pack shot 34 percent from the field and 32 percent from the 3-point line. In the first half, the Pack shot 32 percent from the field and 22 percent from the 3-point line as they trailed 34-27 at the half. 

Sophomore guard Lian Ramiro (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) paced the Pack offensively with 19 points to push his career total to 1,036 points, which is 24th on the school's all-time chart. In addition to Ramiro, junior guard Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College) added 13 points and sophomore forward Isaiah Thompson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Fountain-Fort Carson) tallied his 10th double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds. 

The Pack scored the first four points of the game, before the Mavs reeled off 10 of the next 11 points to take a 10-5 lead just four-plus minutes into the game. A trey from Ramiro with 15:08 left brought the Pack within two at 10-8, but Mesa would score 15 of the next 25 points to push out to a 25-18 lead with five minutes left in the opening half.

CSU Pueblo would respond back by scoring six of the next eight points capped by a lay-up from sophomore guard Noble Robinson (Lubbock, Texas/Clarendon College) to pull within 27-24 with 3:41 left. The Mavs would close the first half on a 7-3 run to take a 34-27 halftime lead.

Mesa would open the second half on a 10-0 run to push its lead to 44-27 just a litle over two minutes into the half. The Pack, though, would mount a rally as they used a 9-2 run capped by back-to-back treys from Ramiro to drop Mesa's lead to 46-36 with 15:07 left in the game. 

The Pack would eventually pull within nine points at 49-40 following two free throws by Morris with 11:24 remaining in the game, but Mesa would go on a 13-4 run to extend its lead to 62-44 with 7:05 remaining. 

CSU Pueblo wouldn't go away as they responded with a 12-5 run capped by a two free throws from freshman guard Sam Howery (Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary's) to drop Mesa's lead to 67-56 with 3:01 left in the contest. 

The Mavs would respond by closing the game on a 9-5 run to set the final margin. 

Blaise Threatt paced the Mesa with 27 points, while Owen Koonce added 19 points and Michael McCurry tallied 10 points off the bench in the win.

While CSU Pueblo shot under 35 percent from both the field and 3-point line, Mesa shot 47 percent from the field and 38 percent from the 3-point line. 

Mesa held a 38-37 advantage on the boards as Trevor Baskin had seven boards for the Mavs. The Pack did collect 16 offensive rebounds in the game, including four from senior forward Elijah Moleon (Killen, Texas/Angelo State). 

Both teams committed 12 turnovers, but the Pack finished with 10 steals, including a career-high tying four by Morris. 

Mesa blocked seven shots with two each from Reece Johnson and Christopher Speller, while Moleon had both of Pack's blocked shots. 

CSU Pueblo won the free throw battle as they were 13-for-14 (93 percent) at the line, while Mesa was 11-for-15 (73 percent) from the line. 

The Pack will conclude the regular season at Massari Arena next weekend (Feb. 24-25) as they host UCCS and Regis for 7:30 p.m. RMAC contests. Saturday's game with Regis is Senior Night as the Pack will honor its two seniors - Moleon and forward Meekness Payne (Phoenix, Ariz./University of New Hampshire) in a pregame ceremony.