PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball opens the New Year this coming weekend with back-to-back Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference road games against 14th-ranked Colorado Mesa and Westminster.
 
The ThunderWolves, who haven't played since concluding its pre-Christmas schedule with an 86-54 setback in an exhibition game on Dec. 17 at then 17th-ranked Colorado State, opens the weekend with a 7:30 p.m. game on Friday, Jan. 5 in Grand Junction against Colorado Mesa and then concludes the road trip with a 7 p.m. game on Saturday, Jan. 6 in Salt Lake City, Utah, against Westminster.
 
CSU Pueblo, who has won six of its last nine games, enters this weekend's first two games of the New Year sporting a 6-5 overall record and is tied for ninth in the RMASC with a 2-3 record. The Pack, though, have lost two straight games (not including the exhibition game with Colorado State) as they fell 97-64 at then 20th-ranked Fort Lewis on Dec. 9 and then suffered a heartbreaking 101-99 overtime loss to South Dakota Mines on Dec. 15.
 
This weekend's two road games will mark the fifth and sixth road games of the season for the Pack as they are 1-3 away from home on the season, including being 1-1 on the road in RMAC play. The Pack's lone road win in league play was a 103-97 win at Adams State on Dec. 8.
 
ABOUT THE PACK
The Pack enters its first two games of the 2024 calendar year 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 21.4 points per game after tying a season-high with 36 points in the overtime loss to South Dakota Mines. Walter is also averaging 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field, 29 percent from the 3-point line and 87 percent from the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in six straight games, including tallying 36 points in two of his last three contests and is averaging 27.2 points per game in RMAC play and has reached double figures in all five league games.
 
In addition to Walter, senior guard Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College) is second in scoring at 13.8 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 6.3 rebounds per game. In addition, he is averaging 3.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game and has a 1.4 assist/turnover ratio and is shooting 534 percent from the field, 45 percent from the 3-point line and 77 percent at the free throw line and has scored in double figures in seven of 11 games. In RMAC play, Morris, who was the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 27, is averaging 16.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
 
The other two double-digit scorers for the Pack are junior guard Daeyon James (Stockbridge, Ga./Seward County CC) and junior guard Armon Muldrew (Perris, Calif./San Bernardino Valley). James is averaging 12.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field, 42 percent from the 3-point line and 79 percent from the free throw line and leads the RMAC in made treys per game as he is averaging 3.1 per game, while Muldrew is averaging 10.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and is shooting 43 percent from the floor and 39 percent from the 3-point line.
 
Coming into this weekend's action, the Pack continues to be one of the 3-point field goal percentage defensive teams in the RMAC and in NCAA Division II men's basketball as the Pack lead the RMAC and are 19th nationally in 3-point field goal defense at 28.7 percent. The Pack's opponents are 70-for-244 from the 3-point line on the season. The Pack's opponents are making 6.4 treys per game and have shot over 40 percent from the 3-point line just two times as Fort Lewis was 11-for-25 (44 percent) from the 3-point line and South Dakota Mines was 14-for-34 (41.2 percent) from the 3-point line.
 
Despite allowing 97 or more points over its last three games, the Pack still come into this weekend's action among one of the top defensive teams in the league as they are sixth in the RMAC in field goal percentage defense (42.1 percent), third in turnovers forced per game (15.8), seventh in scoring defense (72.4 ppg). In addition, the Pack is fifth in the league in scoring margin (+6.6), second in the league in turnover margin (+2.8) and fourth in fouls per game (15.9).
 
The Pack are allowing 72.4 points per game, which is seventh-best in the RMAC and they have held four of its first 11 opponents under 65 points and the Pack is 20-4 when holding opponents to 65 or fewer points since the beginning of the 2019-20 season, including being 12-0 since last season when holding opponents to 65 or less points in a game.
 
Offensively, the Pack are scoring 79 points per game and have scored over 70 points in eight of 11 games, including topping the century mark two times and is shooting 44 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line and 69 percent from the free throw. They are getting outrebounded by 3.3 boards per game and are averaging 14.4 assists, 7.7 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 44-69 record and is 30-58 in RMAC games.
 
ABOUT COLORADO MESA
Colorado Mesa comes into Friday's first game of the New Year ranked 14th and tied for 10th in the latest NABC/Division II Coaches' and D2CSC Media polls. The Mavericks are sporting a 9-2 overall record and are one of the two remaining undefeated teams left in the RMAC with a 5-0 record. The Mavs have won nine of its last 10 games, but had its eight game win streak snapped with an 81-66 loss to then fifth-ranked West Texas A&M in its opener of the High Desert Classic in Las Vegas, Nev., on Dec. 18, before closing out its pre-Christmas schedule with a 92-78 win over Simon Fraser in its most recent game on Dec. 19. 
 
The Mavericks have been strong at home this season as they are 4-0 on the season and they have won 13 straight regular season home games since suffering an 84-78 loss to MSU Denver on Dec. 3, 2022. Over the last two-plus seasons, the Mavs have gone 29-6 at home as they were 11-3 at home in 2021-22, 14-3 at home in 2022-23 and are 4-0 at home this season. 
 
Colorado Mesa, who was tabbed as the favorite in the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll as the Mavs earned 186 points and eight first place votes, have four players averaging in double figures on the season with redshirt junior forward Trevor Baskin leading the way at 16.8 points per game and is also averaging 8.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 52 percent from the field and has blocked a team-best 11 shots. He is seventh in the league in scoring and fourth in the RMAC in rebounding. He has scored in double figures in 10 games and has tallied three double-doubles.
 
In addition to Baskin, redshirt junior guard Mac Riniker is second in scoring at 14.9 points per game and is shooting 64 percent from the field, 44 percent from the 3-point line and 82 percent at the free throw line. The other two double-digit scorers are redshirt junior guard/forward Owen Koonce (14.4 ppg) and redshirt junior guard Isaac Jessup (10.5 ppg).   
 
As a team, Mesa is second in the league in scoring as they are averaging 84.6 points per game and are second in the RMAC in scoring margin at +10.1 points per game. In addition, the Mavs lead the league in both 3-pointers made per game (10.5) and assists per game (17.9) and are fourth in the league in field goal shooting at 48.1 percent. 
 
The Mavericks are coached by Mike DeGeorge, who is in his sixth season at Colorado Mesa and has posted a 121-40 record at Colorado Mesa and is 316-288 in his 23rd season as a collegiate head coach.
 
Friday's game with Colorado Mesa will mark the first of two contests this season between the two teams as the Mavericks will travel to Pueblo on Feb. 24. Friday's game will mark the 71st all-time meeting between the two schools with Colorado Mesa holding a 46-24 edge in the series. Mesa leads the series, 16-15 in Pueblo and leads 28-8 on its home court. The Mavericks have won six straight games in the series, including picking up a 76-61 win in Grand Junction in the team's most recent meeting on Feb. 18, 2023.
 
ABOUT WESTMINSTER
Westminster, who hosts New Mexico Highlands on Friday before hosting the Pack on Saturday, comes into the New Year sporting a 4-7 overall record and are 0-5 in the RMAC this season. The Griffins have lost five straight games and six of its last eight games overall with the lone wins coming in non-conference games against Justice College (85-69) and Navajo Tech (92-74). The most recent loss for the Griffins came at Fort Lewis on Dec. 16 as they fell 90-62 to the Skyhawks in Durango, Colo. Westminster's other losses in league play have come at MSU Denver (85-54), at Mines (75-54) and at home to both Regis (92-83) and UCCS (6153). 
 
The Griffins are 3-3 at home this season but are just 0-2 at home in RMAC play. Along with being 3-3 at home, the Griffins are 0-4 away from home and 1-0 on a neutral court. In fact, since the beginning of last season, Westminster has gone 14-5 at home as they were 11-2 at home last season and is 3-3 at home this season.
 
Westminster, who was tabbed to finish ninth in the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll as they earned 89 points from the league's head coaches, has two players averaging in double figures as junior guard Chase Potter leads the way with 13.1 points per game and is shooting 50 percent from the field on the season. He has scored in double figures in seven games, including a season-high 34 points against Northwest Nazarene. In addition to Potter, senior guard Rylan O'Brien is averaging 11.5 points per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field, 44 percent from the 3-point line and 87 percent at the free throw line. Senior forward Trey Wood and senior guard Pierce Sterling are each averaging 9.5 points per game, while Wood leads in rebounding at 5.3 boards per game and Sterling leads in assists at 2.6 per game. 
 
As a team, Westminster is averaging 68.4 points per game and is allowing 76.3 points per game. The Griffins are shooting 46 percent from the field, 33 percent from the 3-point line and 69 percent at the free throw line and are turning the ball over just 13.5 times per game, which is seventh-best in the league. 
 
The Griffins are coached by Norm Parrish, who is in his ninth season at Westminster and has compiled a 115-102 overall record with the Griffins.
 
Saturday's game with Westminster marks the first of two meetings this season as the Griffins will travel to Pueblo for a game against the Pack on Feb. 23. The series is tied at 7-7 as the Pack has won three of the last four games in the series with the Griffins collecting an 87-49 win in the team's most recent meeting in Salt Lake City on Feb. 17, 2023. The Pack lead the series 4-2 in Pueblo, while Westminster leads the series 5-3 in Salt Lake City.
 
UP NEXT
Following this weekend's two road games, the Pack will return home to Massari Arena to begin a three-game homestand. The homestand begins on Friday, Jan. 12 with a 7:30 p.m. RMAC contest against Colorado School of Mines, before hosting MSU Denver for a 7:30 p.m. game on Saturday, Jan. 13. The third game on the homestand is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 16 as the Pack host New Mexico Highlands for a 7:30 p.m. contest.