PUEBLO, Colo. - Despite erasing a 15-point second half deficit and taking a late lead, the Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team came up just short here Saturday afternoon as they fell 62-60 to Western Colorado in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action at Massari Arena.

With the setback, the ThunderWolves fall to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the RMAC, while Western Colorado improved to 4-4 overall and 2-0 in the RMAC. 

In Saturday's contest, which completed a season-long six game home stand for the Pack, the ThunderWolves erupted for 37 second half points and held the Mountaineers without a field goal over the final four-plus minutes of the game, but a pair of free throws from Aidan McDowell with eight seconds left gave the Mountaineers a 61-60 lead and following a turnover by the Pack on its ensuing possession, WCU pushed its lead to 62-60 after Jordan Kuac made 1-of-2 free throws with 3.2 seconds left. The Pack, though, had one final look, but a contested three from junior guard Dylan Sanders (Aurora, Colo./Pearl River CC) right before the buzzer was off the mark to seal Western's Colorado's two-point victory. 

Sanders paced the way offensively for the Pack in Saturday's game as he tallied a career-high 14 points and added four rebounds and a career-high five steals in the loss. In addition to Sanders, junior guard Jaden Kennis (Windsor, Colo./MSU Denver) added 12 points and six rebounds, but struggled at the free throw line as he finished 1-for-6 at the line. For the game, the Pack was just 9-for-20 (45 percent) from the free throw line. 

One of the biggest bright spots in the game for the Pack was the play of its bench as they outscored the Mountaineers' bench, 23-6, with junior guard Cash Callaway (Pasco, Wash./South Mountain CC) leading the way off the bench with a season-high tying eight points, while redshirt sophomore forward Ty Adam (Severance, Colo./Severance) added seven points and junior forward Kyren Allen (Commerce City, Colo./Trinidad State College) added five points and three rebounds and two steals off the bench. 

The Pack, who trailed for nearly 35 minutes and led for just a total of two minutes and 34 seconds, trailed 35-23 at the half, but opened the second half on 21-12 run to cut WCU's lead to 47-44 following a lay-up by Sanders with 10:36 left in the game. Sanders scored of the Pack's points during that run, 

Following that run by the Pack, WCU responded with a 6-3 run to push its lead out to 53-47 with 6:35 remaining in the contest. The Pack, though, answered back as they used a 13-6 run over the next four-plus minutes to retake the lead at 60-59 following a driving lay-up and ensuing free throw by Sanders to complete a three-point play and give the Pack its first lead since it 4-2 early in the game. Kennis scored five points during the run, while senior guard Sam Howery (Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary's) drilled a trey with 3:47 left to pull the Pack within three at 59-56. 

Sanders' three-point play would cap the scoring for the Pack, as the Mountaineers scored the final three points from the free throw line in the game's final 10 seconds. Over the final four-plus minutes of the game, WCU did not attempt a field goal as they committed five turnovers and were 2-for-3 at the free throw line. 

McDowell, who entered the game as the No. 2 scorer in Division II men's basketball as he was averaging 28.6 points per game, paced the Mountaineers offense with a game-high 22 points on 6-for-14 shooting from the field and a 3-for-6 effort from the 3-point line. He was also 7-for-8 at the line. In addition to McDowell, Tyler Halligan chipped in with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Kuac tallied 10 points and had six rebounds and four assists. 

In the first half, WCU turned a 9-7 lead into 29-20 advantage with 3:33 left in the opening period. After senior forward Kaleb Mitchell (Fountain, Colo./Northern State) made 1-of-2 free throws with 3:02 left to cut WCU's lead to 29-21, the Mountaineers closed the half on a 6-2 run to take a 35-23 lead at the half. In the opening half, the Pack struggled shooting the ball as they shot just 37 percent from the field and 25 percent from the 3-point line, while Western Colorado shot 45 percent from the field and 36 percent from downtown in the opening 20 minutes of action. 

The Pack finished the night shooting just 43 percent from the field and was 3-for-9 (33 percent) from the 3-point line, while WCU shot 49 percent from the field and 33 percent (5-for-15) from long distance. The Pack entered the game leading NCAA Division II in field goal percentage defense at 34.6 percent. 

WCU held a slight 32-31 edge on the boards, but the Pack forced 17 WCU turnovers that led to 13 points. The Pack committed just 10 turnovers in the game and had 13 steals. In addition, the Pack also held a 17-16 edge in assists as Howery tied his career-high with six assists. 

The Mountaineers, though, were 15-for-24 from the free throw line, while CSU Pueblo was just 9-for-20, including a 7-for-16 effort at the line in the second half. 

CSU Pueblo will look to rebound as they hit the road for two games next week. The Pack will open the road trip with a 1 p.m. MT game on Thursday, Dec. 11 at Chadron State and will conclude the trip with a 3 p.m. MT game on Saturday, Dec. 13 in Rapid City, S.D., against South Dakota Mines.