COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball kept their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament hopes alive here Friday evening as the ThunderWolves shot 55 percent from the field and 50 percent from the 3-point line in the second half en route to earning an impressive 92-69 win over UCCS in RMAC action at the Gallogly Events Center.
 
With the victory, which was the fourth in the last games for the Pack, improved their record to 13-14 overall and move into a three-way tie for seventh place in the RMAC standings with a 9-12 mark, while UCCS fell to 11-16 overall and 7-14 in the RMAC to be eliminated from RMAC Tournament contention. The Pack will look to continue its momentum as its closes the regular season on Saturday with a 7 p.m. game in Denver, Colo., against Regis.
 
Entering Saturday's final day of the regular season, the Pack are tied with both South Dakota Mines and Chadron State are all tied with 9-12 records in RMAC play. The Pack will earn a spot in the RMAC Tournament with any combination of a win on Saturday night at Regis and a loss by Chadron State at Black Hills State or if the Pack and Chadron State lose on Saturday, the Pack needs South Dakota Mines to win their regular season finale against Colorado Christian and Colorado Mesa to defeat Western Colorado on Saturday as the Mountaineers are one game behind the three teams tied for seventh, but is still alive for a tournament berth due to tiebreakers. The Pack do not own a tiebreaker with either South Dakota Mines or Western Colorado as the Hardrockers swept both regular season games against the Pack and Western Colorado picked up a home win over the Pack. The Pack can't finish the season in any kind of tiebreaker situation with South Dakota Mines or Western Colorado.
 
Friday's 23-point win is the largest for the Pack in a road game this season and the largest in an RMAC road game for the Pack since the Pack picked up an 82-59 win at Black Hills on Feb. 5, 2022. The Pack have now won three straight road games, which is the longest road win streak for the Pack in RMAC play since winning six straight road games during the 2016-17 season.
 
The Pack win was buoyed by five players in double figures led by senior guard Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College), who tallied a game-high 22 points and added four rebounds and four assists, while junior guard Armon Muldrew (Perris, Calif./San Bernardino Valley) added 20 points, including scoring 16 of those points in the second half. Senior guard Brevin Walter (Las Vegas, Nev./South Dakota Mines) finished with 18 points, while freshman forward Ty Adam (Severance, Colo./Severance) scored a career-high 11 points and freshman guard/forward Corbin Garver (Colorado Springs, Colo./Air Academy) scored 10 points and added seven rebounds.
 
CSU Pueblo, who trailed 39-37 at the half thanks to the Mountain Lions shooting 56 percent from the field and 46 percent from the 3-point line, outscored UCCS 55-30 in the second half to run away with the victory. The 55 second half points was two shy of the Pack's season high.
 
After UCCS opened the second half with a lay-up by Hannes Saar to push its halftime lead to 41-37 just 35 seconds into the half, the Pack responded with a 20-0 run that gave the ThunderWolves a 57-41 lead with 12:46 remaining. The run was keyed by 10 points from Muldrew.
 
After UCCS stopped the run with a trey by Xavier Martinez, the Pack responded with a 25-9 run to extend its lead to 82-53 following a lay-up by Morris with 6:47 remaining in the game. The 29 point lead was the largest of the game for the Pack.
 
From that point, the Pack started to sub in their bench as all 13 players in uniform played in Friday's game and the Mountain Lions closed the game by scoring 16 of the final 26 points to set the final margin.
 
Martinez paced UCCS in scoring with 17 points, while Saar added 11 points and Mac Stodart and Shareef Jaudon each had 10 points in the loss.
 
In the first half, the Pack jumped out to a 17-9 lead just six minutes into the contest, before UCCS scored five straight points to cut the Pack's lead to 17-14. The Pack, though, responded with a 15-8 run to push out to a 32-22 lead. The run was capped by a Morris lay-up with 5:52 left in the opening half.
 
UCCS wouldn't go away as they closed the first half on a 17-5 run to take a 39-37 halftime lead. The Pack improved to 2-10 this season when trailing at the half.
 
The Pack finished the game shooting 54 percent from the field and 48 percent from the 3-point line as they made 12 treys, including nine in the second half. UCCS shot 45 percent from the field and 39 percent from the 3-point line.
 
CSU Pueblo held a 35-33 edge on the glass and recorded a season-high 22 assists on 38 made baskets. Graduate student guard Isaiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./Cal State Dominguez Hills) tied a Pack season high with eight assists and added four steals.
 
The Pack tallied five turnovers and forced the Mountain Lions into 15 turnovers that led to 19 points for the Pack.
 
Both teams shot under 70 percent from the line in the game as the Pack were 4-for-6 (67 percent) from the charity stripe and UCCS was 9-for-13 (69 percent) at the line.