PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball was outscored 9-1 over the final four minutes here Thursday evening to help Colorado Mesa turn a 60-55 deficit into a 64-61 win over the ThunderWolves in a key Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contest at Massari Arena.
 
With the setback, the Pack snapped its two-game winning streak and dropped its record to 10-9 overall and 5-6 in the RMAC, while Colorado Mesa improved to 12-7 overall and 6-5 in the RMAC. The Pack fell into ninth place in the league standings with nine regular season games remaining.
 
In Thursday's game, the Pack outshot the Mavericks, 45 to 31 percent, but CMU was able to make up for its poor shooting by pulling down 17 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second-chance points and forcing the Pack into a season-high turnovers that led to 23 points for CMU. CMU had 13 turnovers that led to 11 points for the Pack.
 
The Pack, who trailed 46-40 with 11:39 left in the game, responded with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 46-all with 10:36 left in the second half. All six of the Pack's points were scored by junior forward Victor Lado (Louisville, Ky./Vincennes University), who finished with 11 points, three assists, and two blocks off the bench. Over his last five games, Lado is averaging 8.6 points per game and has scored in double figures in four of those games.
 
After CMU got two free throws by Yak Yak with 10:25 remaining in the game gave the Mavericks, who have won nine straight games in the series against the Pack, a 48-46 lead, the Pack responded 9-3 run capped by a driving lay-up from freshman guard Jordan Blair (Keller, Texas/Keller Central) with 7:21 left in the game. Blair's basket gave the Pack a 55-51 lead. Blair finished the night with 11 points and four rebounds off the bench as the Pack's bench outscored CMU's bench on the night, 32-11.
 
CMU, though, answered back by scoring four straight points to tie the game at 55-all with 6:33 remaining in the game. The Pack came right back and scored five straight points thanks to two free throws by senior forward De'Shaun Cooper (San Diego, Calif./Balboa School) and a 3-pointer from fifth-year senior guard Brewin Walter (Las Vegas, Nev./South Dakota Mines) to give the Pack its final lead of the game at 60-55 at the four-minute media timeout.
 
Following a Cooper free throw with four minutes left, CMU reeled off six straight points to take a 61-60 lead with 1:24 remaining in the contest, before Blair made 1-of-2 free throws with 36 seconds left to tie the game at 61.
 
On the ensuing possession, Will Mortimore gave the Mavericks a 63-61 lead following a tip-in with 19 seconds left. Following Mortomore's basket, the Pack drove down the court and with 16 seconds left, senior guard Armon Muldrew (Perris, Calif./San Bernardino Valley) drove the ball into the paint, but on the play, CMU forced a turnover and Christoper Speller hit 1-of-2 free throws with 15 seconds left to give CMU a 64-61 lead.
 
The Pack had one last possession to either win or force overtime, but a three-pointer by Walter with five seconds fell short and sealed the victory for the Mavericks.
 
In addition to the 11 points each by Lado and Blair, Muldrew paced the Pack offensively with 12 points and added four rebounds and four assists. Copper added nine points and a team-high seven rebounds and moves within 16 points of becoming the 28th member of Pack's 1,000-Point Club. Walter and junior guard Denim Johnson (Omaha, Neb./Trinity Valley CC) each had eight points.
 
CMU jumped out to a 21-13 lead with 8:18 left in the opening half, before the Pack used an 8-0 run thanks to treys from Blair and Muldrew to tie the game at 21 with 6:20 left in the first half.
 
The Mavericks would close the first half on a 10-5 run to take a 31-26 lead at the half.
 
In the first half, the Pack shot 48 percent from the field and 44 percent from the 3-point line but committed 13 turnovers that led to 13 points for CMU, and the Mavericks held an 11-2 edge on the offensive glass.
 
Mortimore led three Mavericks in double figures with 19 points and 12 rebounds. In addition to Mortimore, Ty Allred scored 12 points and added five rebounds and five steals, while Harvey White added 10 points  and Yak had nine points and five boards.
 
For the game, the Pack shot 45 percent from the field and 36 percent (8-for-22) from the 3-point line, while CMU shot 31 percent from the field and 27 percent (4-for-15) from the 3-point line.
 
CMU finished the night with a 42-33 edge on the boards, including a 17-7 edge on the offensive glass. The Mavericks also blocked eight shots and had 13 steals.
 
The Pack blocked five shots and had four steals and dished out 20 assists on 22 made baskets as Johnson, Muldrew, Walter and junior guard Sam Howery (Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary's) each had four assists. CMU had 11 assists in the game.
 
CMU also outshot the Pack at the free throw, 25-18, as the Mavericks were 20-for-25 (80 percent) at the line, while the Pack was 9-for-18 (50 percent) from the free throw line, including going 3-for-9 from the line over the final six-plus minutes of the game.
 
The Pack will look to close out its four-game homestand with a win on Saturday, Feb. 1 as they host Westminster (10-9 overall, 4-7 RMAC) for a 3 p.m. RMAC contest in Massari Arena. The Pack opened RMAC play with a 72-62 win over the Griffins in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Dec. 5.