GUNNISON, Colo. – For the first time since 2015-16, Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team has started Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a 2-0 record following its 69-56 victory here Saturday afternoon over Western Colorado at Paul Wright Gymnasium.
With the win, the ThunderWolves improve to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in the RMAC, while Western Colorado falls to 2-5 overall and 1-1 in the RMAC. The win was the third straight for the Pack.
The Pack have now held three of its first eight opponents under 60 points and is now 13-1 since the beginning of the 2019-20 season when holding their opponents to 60 or less points, including being 3-0 this season and is 9-0 since the beginning of last season when holding opponents under 60 points.
Redshirt sophomore guard
Jaden Kennis (Windsor, Colo./MSU Denver) led the way with his career collegiate double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, while fifth-year senior guard
Brevin Walter (Las Vegas, Nev./South Dakota Mines) tallied 14 points, including going 9-for-9 from the free throw line. All eight of Walter's second half points came at the free throw line, including hitting six free throws in the final 45 seconds to seal the win.
Senior forward
De'Shaun Cooper (Poway, Calif./Balboa School) also scored 11 points and added eight rebounds, while senior guard
Armon Muldrew (Perris, Calif./San Bernardino Valley) also had 11 points and seven boards in the win.
In Saturday's win, which came two days after the Pack opened RMAC play with a 72-62 win at Westminster, the Pack trailed by as much as seven points at 9-2 a little over seven minutes into the contest as the Pack opened the game making just three of its first 14 shots before the Pack used an 18-10 run to its first lead of the game on a three-point play by Walter with 1:23 left in the first half. Walter's three-point play gave the Pack a 20-19 lead.
After a missed lay-up by Kade Juelfs on WCU's next trip down the court, the Pack pushed its lead to 22-19 on a lay-up by Walter and Kennis capped the first half scoring on a basket with 29 seconds left in the half to give the Pack a 24-19 halftime lead. The Pack are now 7-0 this season when leading at the half.
The Pack opened the second half 13-7 run to push its lead to 37-26 following a fast break lay-up by Muldrew just a little over five minutes into the half. After WCU scored four straight points to pull within 37-30, the Pack responded with a 19-10 run over the next 10-plus minutes to push its lead to 16 points at 56-40. The run was keyed by nine points from Kennis, including capping the run with a jumper from just inside the 3-point in the corner.
Following that run, WCU would battle back as they scored nine straight points, including back-to-back treys from Juelfs to drop the Pack lead to 56-49 with 3:47 left in the game. On the Pack's next trip down the court after Tyler Halligan hit one-of-two free throws to cap the Mountaineers' run, Cooper made a tip-in with 3:32 left in the game to give the Pack a 58-49 lead.
The Pack would then close the game by hitting 11 of its final 12 free throws to set the final margin and seal the win. Walter made six of those final 11 free throws, while junior forward
Victor Lado (Louisville, Ky./Vincennes University) made four of those free throws down the stretch.
In the second half, the Pack outscored the Mountaineers, 45-37.
Kade Juelfs paced Western Colorado with 14 points, while Halligan added 13 points and Amar Rivers tallied eight points and seven rebounds.
The Pack held a 45-37 edge on the boards and forced the Mountaineers into 15 turnovers that led to 14 points. The Pack committed 13 turnovers that led to 16 points for the Mountaineers.
Along with Kennis' career-high 10 rebounds, Cooper and junior guard
Denim Johnson (Omaha, Neb./Trinity Valley CC each had eight rebounds. The Pack also blocked three shots in the win.
For the game, the Pack shot 37 percent from the field and 20 percent from the 3-point line, while Western Colorado shot 32 percent from the field and 29 percent from the 3-point line. Western outscored the Pack, 24-9 from the 3-point line.
The Pack also out shot WCU at the free throw line, 26-11, as the Pack was 22-for-26 (84.6 percent) at the line, while Western was 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) at the line.
The Pack also held a 15-3 edge in fast break points and outscored the Mountaineers, 36-24, in the paint.
CSU Pueblo will look to continue its hot play to open the 2024-25 season as they return home to Massari Arena to host Chadron State in a 7:30 p.m. RMAC game on Thursday, Dec. 12 and then hosts South Dakota Mines for a 3 p.m. RMAC game on Saturday, Dec. 14.
