PUEBLO, Colo. – The Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team will look to put the brakes on a season-high four-game losing streak here this weekend as they conclude a three-game homestand with back-to-back Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contests in Massari Arena.

The ThunderWolves, who are 2-4 in its last six games, open the weekend with a 7:30 p.m. game on Friday, Feb. 9 against No. 3 ranked Fort Lewis and then concludes the homestand on Saturday, Feb. 10 with a 7:30 contest against Adams State. The homestand began last Friday with an 81-67 setback to Regis.

CSU Pueblo comes into this weekend's action sporting a 9-11 overall record and are 10th in the RMAC standings with a 5-9 league record with eight games left in the regular season. The top eight teams at the end of the regular season earn a spot in the RMAC Tournament. The Pack haven't advanced to the RMAC Tournament since 2017. The Pack are just three games out of fifth place in the league standings heading into action this weekend.

The Pack's current four-game losing skid began with a 79-72 loss three weeks ago at Western Colorado and then continued two weekend ago in South Dakota with back-to-back road defeats at South Dakota Mines (86-80) and Black Hills State (84-69) and then the Pack suffered that 81-67 home loss last Friday to Regis.

This weekend's two home games will mark the 12th and 13th home contests of the season for the Pack as they are 7-4 at home, including being 3-4 at home in RMAC play.

Friday's game with Fort Lewis is Whiteout Night in Massari Arena. The men's basketball team is offering 25 free pizzas that will be delivered to CSU Pueblo students prior to tip-off of the game with the Skyhawks.

ABOUT THE PACK
The Pack enters this weekend's action 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 as he is seventh in the league in scoring at 16.6 points per game. In addition to averaging 16.6 points per game, Walter, who was a two-time All-RMAC selection while playing the past three years at South Dakota Mines, is also averaging 4.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, and is shooting 40 percent from the field, 35 percent from the 3-point line and leads the league in free throw shooting at 89 percent. He has scored in double figures in 13 of his last 15 games and is averaging 17.9 points per game in RMAC play and has reached double figures in scoring in 12 of the Pack's 14 league games.

In addition to Walter, senior guard Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College) is second in scoring at 15.2 points per game and leads the team and is sixth in the RMAC in rebounding at 6.9 boards per game and is fifth in the league in assists (3.5 per game) and third in steals (2.0 per game) and has a 1.46 assist/turnover ratio and is shooting 52 percent from the field, 42 percent from the 3-point line and 83 percent from the free throw line, which is seventh in the RMAC. He has scored in double figures in eight straight games, including tallying double-doubles in two of his last six games. In RMAC play, Morris is averaging 16.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game and is shooting 54 percent from the field, 42 percent from the 3-point line and 85 percent at the free throw line.

The third double-digit scorer for the Pack is junior guard Armon Muldrew (Perris, Calif./San Bernardino Valley) as he is averaging 12.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field, 38 percent from the 3-point line and 71 percent at the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in six of his last seven games. In RMAC play, Muldrew is averaging 13.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 45 percent from the floor and 35 percent from the 3-point line.

Junior forward De'Shaun Cooper (Poway, Calif./Balboa School) is the fourth double-digit scorer on the season for the Pack as he is averaging 11.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 60 percent from the field and leads the team in blocked shots with 15. He has scored in double figures in two straight games and five times in his last six games overall, including recording his first career double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds against New Mexico Highlands. In RMAC play, Cooper is averaging 12.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 64 percent from the field.

Coming into play on Friday, the Pack are third in the league in 3-point shooting as they are shooting 36 percent (163-for-449) from the 3-point line. The Pack have shot over 45 percent from downtown in five games, including two games shooting over 55 percent from the 3-point line as the Pack shot a season-best 61 percent (14-for-23) from the 3-point line at Adams State and shot 58 percent (14-for-24) from downtown at Westminster.

In addition to being third in the RMAC in 3-point shooting, the Pack are also second in the league in both free throws made and free throw attempts per game as they are making 16.3 free throws per game and are attempting 22.6 free throws per game. As a team, the Pack is shooting 71.5 percent from the free throw line on the year.

Offensively, the Pack are scoring 78.2 points per game and have scored over 70 points in 15 of 20 games, including topping the century mark two times and is shooting 45 percent from the field and 36 percent from the 3-point line. The Pack are getting outrebounded by 3.3 boards per game and are averaging 13.4 assists, 7.0 steals and 2.0 blocks per game.

The Pack enter this week's action seventh in the league in field goal percentage defense as their opponents are shooting 45 percent from the field and are fourth in turnovers per game (14.3), fifth in scoring margin (+3.2). In addition, the Pack is third in turnover margin (+2.2) and third in fouls per game (16.3).

In RMAC play, the Pack are averaging 79.6 points per game and are allowing 82.4 points per game. In addition, the Pack is shooting 46 percent from the field, 33 percent from the 3-point line and 73 percent at the free throw line in conference action.

CSU Pueblo is coached by Matt Hammer, who is in his fifth season as the Pack's coach and in his four-plus seasons leading the Pack, he has compiled a 47-75 overall record and a 33-64 record in RMAC games. Hammer needs one more win this season to lead the Pack to its third straight 10 win campaign.

ABOUT FORT LEWIS
Fort Lewis comes into the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the RMAC as the Skyhawks are ranked No. 3 in this week's latest NABC Division II Coaches' Poll, which is the highest ever national ranking for the program in school history. Fort Lewis has won seven straight games and is sporting a 19-2 overall record and are sitting atop the league standings with a 14-1 mark. The Skyhawks lone league loss is a 79-70 setback on Jan. 12 at UCCS and since that loss, FLC has reeled off seven straight wins, including wins over nationally-ranked league foes – Colorado Mesa (87-79) and Mines (73-63), who are ranked 10th and 17th respectively in this week's NABC poll.

The defending RMAC regular season and tournament champions are one of the top defensive teams in the league as they enter Friday's action second in the RMAC in scoring defense as they are allowing 69.6 points per game and they league the league and are 16th nationally in turnovers forced per game at 17.7, are third in the league in field goal percentage defense at 42.6 percent and leads the league in steals per game as they average 8.7 per game.

While also having one of the top defenses in the league, Fort Lewis also has one of the top offensive teams in the league as they lead the league in scoring at 85.0 points per game and also lead the RMAC in three-point field goal percentage (37.6 percent), field goal percentage (48.9 percent) and are third in free throw percentage (74.2 percent).

The Skyhawks lead the RMAC and are ninth in Division II in bench points per game as they average 39.0 points per game. Fort Lewis has had 10 players score over 100 points on the year, including four players scoring over 200 points on the year.

Junior guard Obi Agbim is one of three Skyhawks that are averaging in double figures on the season as Agbim is averaging 14.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 47 percent from the field, 33 percent from the 3-point line and 82 percent at the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in 16 games, including five time in his last six games.

The second double-digit scorer for the Skyhawks is senior guard Malik Whitaker, who is averaging 11.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 50 percent from the field, 48 percent from the 3-point line and 76 percent at the free throw line and has reached double figures in 11 games.

FLC's third double-digit scorer is junior forward Brayden Carter, who is a transfer from Regis. Carter, who has yet to start a game this season, is averaging 10.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 62 percent from the field and has blocked a team-best 22 shots. He has scored in double figures in 13 games, including tallying 17 points and seven rebounds earlier this season against the Pack.

Fort Lewis also has two former ThunderWolves' playing in their rotation this season as junior forward Isaiah Thompson is averaging 17.8 minutes per game and is averaging 6.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, while junior guard Tristan Hurdle is averaging 10.6 minutes per game and is averaging 5.7 points per game and is shooting 49 percent from the 3-point line.  

Fort Lewis, who was tabbed to finish second in the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll as they earned 177 points and four first place votes, is coached by Bob Pietrack. Pietrack is in his ninth season with the Skyhawks and has compiled a 179-73 overall record and has the highest winning percentage (.710) in school history.

Friday's game marks the second of two meetings this season between the two schools as the Pack suffered a 97-64 loss to the Skyhawks in Durango, Colo., on Dec. 9. Fort Lewis leads the all-time series, 28-10 and has won six straight games in the series. Prior to this year's lopsided win, the previous two games in the series had come down to one possession as the Pack fell at home last season to the Skyhawks, 69-65 and also fell 68-65 last season at Durango.

ABOUT ADAMS STATE
Adams State, who plays at New Mexico Highlands on Friday before traveling to Pueblo for Saturday's match-up with the Pack, comes into this weekend's action having lost two straight games to drop its record to 6-14 overall and the Grizzlies are 4-10 in the RMAC. In fact, Adams State has lost five of its last seven games overall with the lone wins coming at home against Chadron State (104-77) and at Westminster (92-81). The Grizzlies most recent losses came at home last weekend as they fell 93-81 to MSU Denver and suffered a 117-84 loss to Mines.

One of the biggest strengths this season for the Grizzlies is their ability to shoot free throws as they lead the RMAC and are 14th nationally in free throw percentage at 78.2 percent. On the season, Adams State is 317-for-405 from the free throw line. Along with being strong on free throw shooting, the Grizzlies are also third in the league in steals per game as they average 7.8 per contest and are second in the league in fast break points as they average 14.0 fast break points per game.

Offensively, ASU is fifth in the league in scoring as they average 77.8 points per game and are allowing a league-worse 85.1 points per game. The Grizzlies are shooting 47 percent from the field and 32 percent from the 3-point line, while their opponents are shooting 49 percent from the field and 36 percent from long distance.

Two Grizzlies average in double figures on the season as redshirt senior guard Destan Williams is averaging 16.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game and is shooting 51 percent from the field, 36 percent from the 3-point line and 87 percent at the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in 17 games and is averaging 16.0 points per game in RMAC play.

The other double-digit scorer for the Grizzlies is redshirt senior guard Austin Fadal, who is averaging 14.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 50 percent from the field and 82 percent at the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in three straight games and 15 games overall on the season. In RMAC play, he is averaging 16.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

Williams and Fadal are the only two ASU players to start all 20 games this season.

Adams State, who was tabbed to finish 14th in the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll, is coached by first-year head coach Kenny Tripp. Tripp comes to ASU after spending the past four seasons as an assistant men's basketball coach at the University of Idaho. Tripp, though, is no stranger to the RMAC as he spent one season as an assistant at MSU Denver and was a graduate assistant coach at Regis University. Tripp is 6-14 as the Grizzlies head coach.

Saturday's game with Adams State is the second of two meetings this season between the two schools as the Pack collected a 103-97 win in Alamosa, Colo., earlier this season. The Pack holds a 22-15 all-time edge in the series as the teams split their two meetings last season. The Pack holds a 12-6 edge in the series at home and leads 10-9 in Alamosa.

UP NEXT
The Pack will hit the road for back-to-back RMAC contests next weekend (Feb. 16-17) as they play at Colorado Christian on Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. and at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 17 at Chadron State. The Pack earned a 73-70 win earlier this season at home against CCU and opened league play with an 84-82 home loss to the Eagles.