PUEBLO, Colo. – The Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team will wrap up the 2025 calendar year Saturday afternoon with a non-conference, South Central Region tilt in Laredo, Texas, against Texas A&M-International. Tip-off for Saturday's game is set for 1 p.m. MT inside the TAMIU Kinesiology & Convocation Building.

CSU Pueblo enters Saturday's match-up with a 7-3 overall record and a 3-1 mark away from Massari Arena, continuing a strong early-season showing under first-year head coach Zach Ruebesam. The Pack is coming off a split Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) road weekend as they earned an 89-74 win at Chadron State last Thursday, before falling 84-77 in overtime at South Dakota Mines this past Saturday.

The Pack is playing its fifth game this season against an opponent from the Lone Star Conference. The Pack is 3-1 against LSC foes this season and is 93-64 all-time against current members of the LSC.

After opening this season with a 5-0 record, the Pack has lost three of its last five games, with the setbacks coming at home to Eastern New Mexico (70-63) and Western Colorado (62-60) and at South Dakota Mines last weekend.

The 7-3 start to the season is the seventh in the program's four-year school history (1963-present) and the first since opening the 2006-07 season by winning seven of its first 10 games. In addition to 2025-26 and 2006-07, the Pack also opened the season 7-3 in 1976-77, 1979-80, 1994-95, 2000-01, and 2005-06.

ABOUT THE PACK
CSU Pueblo has built their success in the early going on the defensive end of the floor as they lead the RMAC and ranks 15th nationally in NCAA Division II in field goal percentage defense as they are holding opponents to just 38.4 percent shooting from the field. Only five teams have shot better than 36 percent from the field this season against the Pack.

In addition, the ThunderWolves, coached by first-year head coach Zach Ruebesam, continue to lead the RMAC in scoring defense, allowing 66.0 points per game and owns a +10.1 scoring margin through the first 10 games. Meanwhile, the Pack has allowed 70 or more points only four times this season. Additionally, the Pack is second in the league in rebounds per game, averaging 38.7 rebounds and boasting a +4.4 rebound margin, which ranks fourth in the RMAC.

Offensively, the Pack is averaging 76.2 points per game and shooting 44 percent from the field, 33.9 percent from the 3-point line, and is 12th in the league in free throw shooting at 69.8 percent. In addition, the Pack is fourth in the league in assists per game (15.5) and is third in both assist-to-turnover ratio (1.27), and turnover margin (+2.2).

As a team, the Pack has shot 20 or more free throws in a game eight times, including a season-high 33 free throws against UT Permian Basin. The Pack has had 20 or more free throw attempts in six consecutive games entering this week's action. Along with shooting 20 or more free throws in eight games, the Pack has made double-digit free throws in eight of 10 games, including a season-high 24 made free throws against UT Permian Basin. The Pack has also shot 70 percent or better from the line five times, including a season-high 84.6 percent (22-for-26) at the line in the 84-77 overtime loss at South Dakota Mines. In four RMAC games this season, the Pack is shooting 71.4 percent (70-for-98) from the free throw line.

Two of the biggest strengths for the Pack are sharing the basketball and assist-to-turnover ratio, as they are fourth in the RMAC in assists per game, averaging 15.5 per game, and are also third in the league assist-to-turnover ratio (1.27). Sophomore guard Mac Terry (Castle Pines, Colo./South Dakota Mines) is averaging 3.2 assists per game and is leads the league and is 10th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.56), while senior guard Sam Howery (Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary's) has a 5.80 assist-to-turnover ratio and is 11th and is averaging  2.9 per game.

Sophomore guard/forward Jordan Blair (Keller, Texas/Keller Central) anchors the Pack offense as he leads the team in both scoring (15.5 points) and rebounding (8.1 boards), and is shooting 50 percent from the field, 45.8 percent from the 3-point line and 65.4 percent at the free throw line. Blair has scored in double figures in eight of the Pack's 10 games, including tallying his first career double-double of a career-high 23 points and a career-high 14 rebounds last time out against South Dakota Mines. Blair enters this week's action 13th in the RMAC in scoring, third in the league in rebounding and tied for eighth in the league in field goal percentage.

Along with Blair, redshirt junior guard Jaden Kennis (Windsor, Colo./MSU Denver) is averaging 13.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field, 32 percent from the 3-point line, and 79.6 percent (39-for-49) from the free throw line. Kennis has tallied double figures in scoring in nine of 10 games, including tallying a career-high 23 points last time out against South Dakota Mines.

Two other Pack players are averaging over 8.0 points per game this season - junior guard Dylan Sanders (Aurora, Colo./Pearl River CC) and redshirt sophomore forward Ty Adam (Severance, Colo./Severance). Sanders, who has scored in double figures in four of his last six games, is averaging 9.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game and is shooting 44 percent from the field, 37 percent (13-for-35) from the 3-point line and a team-leading 81.8 percent (27-for-33) at the free throw line, which is 13th in the RMAC. He leads the team in steals with 15 and his 13 made 3-pointers is also tied for the team lead with freshman guard Bryce Riehl (Colorado Springs, Colo./Mesa Ridge). Meanwhile, Adam is averaging 8.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 49 percent from the field, 60 percent from the 3-point line and 73.9 percent at the free throw line. Adam has tallied double figures in three games, including a career-high 13 points in the Pack's 65-56 home win over Westminster.

ABOUT TEXAS A&M-INTERNATIONAL
Texas A&M-International, who hosts a non-conference game on Thursday with Southwestern Adventist before welcoming the Pack to Laredo on Saturday, comes into play this weekend having won two of its last four games overall and is sporting a 3-7 overall record and is 2-2 in the Lone Star Conference after splitting road games this past week as the Dustdevils won 72-69 at UT-Permian Basin and fell 78-77 on Monday at Angelo State. Along with a win over UTPB, TAMIU's other wins have come in the season opener at MSU Denver (107-96) and at home against UT-Tyler (65-58).

The Dustdevils are 1-3 this season against RMAC foes as along with its win over MSU Denver, TAMIU has lost to Black Hills State (89-57), Colorado Mesa (72-62) and Western Colorado (84-78).

TAMIU has played just three of its first 10 games at home this season as TAMIU is 1-2 at home with the lone win coming against UT-Tyler. The Dustdevils, though, have played a difficult schedule so far this season as their previous opponents have posted a 56-39 (.58.9 percent) overall record.

Texas A&M-International, who was tabbed to finish 10th in the Preseason LSC Poll as they earned 350 points, has three players averaging in double figures led by senior guard Caylen Goff Brown is averaging 16.5 points per game and is shooting 47 percent from the field, 44 percent from the 3-point line and 86 percent at the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in all 10 games, including a 23 point effort in a home loss earlier this season to Angelo State.

In addition to Goff Brown, junior guard Jamyier Patton is averaging 12.4 points and 2.6 assists per game and is shooting 40 percent from the field and 80 percent at the line and has scored in double figures in six games, including two games with 20 or more points, while the third double-digit scorer is senior forward Gaius M'Ella. M'Ella is averaging 11.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game and is shooting 53 percent from the field and 35 percent from downtown and he has scored in double figures in five games and tallied a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds against St. Edward's.

As a team, Texas A&M-International is averaging 69.1 points per game game and is allowing 77.1 points per game. The Dustdevils are shooting 45 percent from the field, 34 percent from the 3-point line and 69 percent from the free throw line. TAMIU is making 6.0 treys per game and is averaging 13.9 turnovers per game as they have a -2.3 turnover margin on the year.

Defensively, TAMIU's opponents are shooting 50 percent from the field, 35 percent from the 3-point line and 68 percent at the free throw line and are outrebounding the Dustdevils by 4.4 boards per game. TAMIU does average 5.8 steals and blocks 2.0 shots per game.

TAMIU is coached by Mac McConnell, who is in his sixth season with the Dustdevils and is eighth season overall as a collegiate head coach as he spent two seasons as the head coach at East Central (Okla.) University from 2011-13. In his six seasons at TAMIU, McConnell, who played college basketball at Tarleton State, has compiled a 66-67 record and has a collegiate head coaching record of 79-116 as he was 13-39 in his two seasons at East Central.

Saturday's game marks just the third-ever meeting on the hardwood for each school as the series is tied at 1-1. The teams haven't faced each other since TAMIU earned a 61-39 win over the Pack in Massari Arena on Nov. 26, 2021. In that game, the Pack was held to 28 percent shooting from the field and a 1-for-14 effort from the 3-point line and were outrebounded, 46-36, while TAMIU shot 38 percent from the field and 43 percent from the 3-point line and led 35-20 at the half. Elijah Moleon led the Pack in scoring with 10 points and added 12 rebounds.

UP NEXT
Following this Saturday's game at Texas A&M-International, the Pack will take time off for the Christmas holidays (including an NCAA mandated seven-day moratorium from Dec. 22-28) and will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, with a 3 p.m. non-conference game in Massari Arena against New Mexico Highlands.