LAREDO, Texas - Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball used a strong second-half rally to take the lead Saturday afternoon, but an early deficit proved too much to overcome as the ThunderWolves fell 61–55 to Texas A&M International in a non-conference South Central Regional matchup at the TAMIU Convocation Center.
With the setback, CSU Pueblo closes its pre-Christmas schedule at 7-4 overall, while the Dustdevils improved to 5-7 on the season. The ThunderWolves head into the holiday break having dropped two straight games, including an 84–77 overtime loss at South Dakota Mines last Saturday.
Trailing 28–22 at halftime, CSU Pueblo opened the second half on a 10–2 run to seize a 32–30 lead following a three-pointer from redshirt junior guard Jaden Kennis (Windsor, Colo./MSU Denver) with 16:35 remaining. The basket marked the ThunderWolves' first lead since the opening 30 seconds of the game.
Kennis paced CSU Pueblo with a game-high 18 points and added eight rebounds, scoring 13 points and pulling down six boards in the second half. Redshirt sophomore forward Ty Adam (Severance, Colo./Severance) contributed 10 points and four rebounds, while sophomore guard Mac Terry (Castle Pines, Colo./South Dakota Mines) chipped in eight points.
The Dustdevils' defense held Pack sophomore guard Jordan Blair (Keller, Texas/Keller Central) to a season-low two points, which came on a lay-up with 7:06 left in the game. Blair entered the game leading the Pack in scoring at 15.5 points per game. Along with his two points, he added four rebounds and two assists.
Following the Pack run, the Dustdevils, who won their third straight game, used a 24-10 run over the next 10-plus minutes to push in front 54-42. A lay-up from Caylen Goff Brown capped the run.
The Pack, though, responded with a 9-5 run to pull within 57-51 with 2:18 left in the game. The run began with a lay-up from redshirt sophomore guard/forward Corbin Garver (Colorado Springs, Colo./Air Academy) and was capped by a lay-up from junior guard Dylan Sanders (Aurora, Colo./Pearl River CC).
TAMIU answered about 30 seconds later with a lay-up by Peyton Gusters to extend their lead to 59-51 with 1:48 left, but the Pack used a lay-up by senior guard Sam Howery (Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary's) and two free throws by Kennis to pull within 59-55 with 31 seconds left. TAMIU would push its lead to 61-55 following two free throws by Spivey Word with 17 seconds left.
The Dustdevils jumped out to a 28-11 lead with 3:04 left in the first half, but the Pack closed the first half on an 11-0 run to cut TAMIU's lead to 28-22 at the half. The 11-0 run was capped by a trey from Howery with one second left in the half. Howery and Adam combined for nine of the Pack's final 11 points of the first half.
TAMIU opened the game by making eight of its first 11 shots in sprinting out to a 21-8 lead with 7:35 left in the first half. Meanwhile, the Pack made just three of its first 16 shots (18.8 percent) and had five turnovers that led to 10 points for the Dustdevils.
Over the final seven-plus minutes of the opening half, the Pack made four of its last nine shots, while TAMIU was just two of its final nine shots. The Pack finished the first half with eight turnovers that led to 12 Dustdevil points.
Gaius Mervin M'Ella paced TAMIU offensively with 17 points and added six rebounds, while Word added 15 points off the bench and Jamyier Patton tallied 12 points and six rebounds in the win.
For the game, the Pack struggled to shoot the ball as they finished the contest shooting 33.3 percent from the field and shot a season-low 20 percent (4-for-20) from the 3-point line, while TAMIU shot 46.2 percent from the field and 22 percent (4-for-18) from the 3-point line.
The Pack won the rebounding battle, 33-30, as long with Kennis' eight boards, Sanders had seven boards, but the Pack committed 17 turnovers that led to 24 points for the Dustdevils.
TAMIU had 13 turnovers and dished out 12 assists on their 24 made baskets, while the Pack had eight assists on 19 made baskets.
The Pack won the free throw battle as they shot a season-high 92.9 percent (13-for-14) at the line, while TAMIU was just 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) at the line.
CSU Pueblo 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.
