PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball will close out its 2024-25 season here this coming weekend as the ThunderWolves return home to Massari Arena to host Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contests against MSU Denver and Colorado School of Mines.
 
The ThunderWolves, who have officially been eliminated from the RMAC Tournament, open the weekend with a 7:30 p.m. game on Thursday, Feb. 27, against MSU Denver (19-7 overall, 13-5 RMAC) before hosting nationally fifth-ranked Colorado School of Mines (23-3 overall, 17-1 RMAC) for a 6 p.m. game on Saturday, March 1 for Senior Night. Before the beginning of Saturday's game with the Orediggers, the Pack will honor its three seniors – forward De'Shaun Cooper (San Diego, Calif./Balboa School), guard Armon Muldrew (Perris, Calif./San Bernardino Valley) and Brevin Walter (Las Vegas, Nev./South Dakota Mines) – in a pregame ceremony.

Thursday's game with MSU Denver is being sponsored by ENT Credit Union, while Saturday's game with Mines will be sponsored by MXV Rail. 
 
CSU Pueblo enters the final week of the season having lost seven of its last eight games and 13 of its last 15 overall after splitting road games last week. The Pack secured a 102-98 victory last Thursday at Fort Lewis before suffering a 115-110 overtime loss last Saturday at Adams State. The win at Fort Lewis ended a six-game losing streak for the Pack. The Pack is sporting an 11-15 overall record and sits 12th in the RMAC standings with a 6-12 record.
 
The Pack are playing its 14th and 15th home games this weekend as the Pack is 8-5 at home, including being 3-5 at home in RMAC play. The Pack has dropped three straight games at home since picking up back-to-back home wins against Adams State and New Mexico on Jan. 23 and Jan. 25. Since the beginning of the 2025 calendar year, the Pack has posted a 3-13 overall record. While the Pack is 8-5 at home this season, they finished the 2024-25 season with a 3-10 road record, including a 3-7 road record in RMAC play.
 
Thursday's game with MSU Denver will mark the first and only meeting this season between the two schools, while Saturday's game with Mines will be a rematch from earlier this season as the Pack suffered a 96-75 loss in Golden, Colo., to the Orediggers on Jan. 16.
 
ABOUT THE PACK
Through 26 games this season, the Pack has three players averaging in double figures, with Walter leading the way as he is averaging 12.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game and is shooting 38 percent from the field, 28 percent from the 3-point line and 83.5 percent (86-for-103) from the free throw line, which is seventh-best in the RMAC and enters this week's action having made 15 straight and 24 of his last 27 free throws overall. He has scored in double figures in a team-high tying 18 games, including 11 times in his last 15 games, and leads the team in made 3-pointers with 32. In RMAC play, he is averaging 13.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 37 percent from the field, 27 percent from the 3-point line and 88 percent at the free throw line. In last Saturday's game at Adams State, Walter joined the 2,000 Point Club as he scored a season-high 29 points and has now scored 2,012 career points and is one of five active Division II players that has scored 2,000 points.

The No. 2 scorer for the Pack is Muldrew, as he is averaging 11.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and a team-high 2.8 assists per game while shooting 42 percent from the field, 32 percent from the 3-point line, and 74 percent at the free throw line. He has scored in double figures in seven of his last 10 games and 16 times overall on the season. In RMAC play, Muldrew is averaging 12.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game and is shooting 31 percent from the field and 35 percent from the 3-point line.
 
In addition to Walter and Muldrew, the third double-digit scorer for the Pack is Cooper, who is averaging 11.4 points and a team-best 5.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 63 percent from the field and has scored in double figures in two straight games and a team-high tying 18 times on the season and has tallied three double-doubles. Cooper, who became the 28th member of the Pack's 1,000-Point Club after scoring 11 points at Black Hills State, comes into this week's action sitting 23rd in career scoring with 1,057 points and he is tied for 16th among active NCAA Division II in field goal percentage at 61  percent (412-for-675).
 
As a team, the Pack, who is coached by sixth-year head coach Matt Hammer, enters this week's action averaging 73.7 points per game but has scored over 100 points in its last two games, including scoring a season-high 110 points last Saturday at Adams State. In 16 RMAC games, the Pack is averaging 71.6 points per game. On defense, the Pack is allowing 74.0 points per game, which is 11th in the RMAC and is 10th in the league in scoring margin at -0.3.

The Pack enters this week's action sitting second in the league and 27th nationally in Division II in 3-point field goal percentage defense as the Pack's opponents are shooting 31.1 percent (171-for-552) from the 3-point line and those opponents are shooting 43.6 percent (694-for-1,590) from the field. Seventeen of the Pack's 26 opponents have shot better than 40 percent from the field, while 13 of the Pack's 26 opponents haven't shot better than 28 percent from the 3-point line, but 10 of its last 16 opponents have shot better than 30 percent or better from downtown.
 
One of the areas the Pack has struggled with this season is shooting the 3-point shot as the Pack are 14th in the RMAC in 3-point shooting at 31.1 percent (151-for-486) from long distance and are making 5.8 treys per game, which is 13th in the RMAC. In RMAC play, the Pack is shooting 31.8 percent from the 3-point line and are averaging 5.9 made treys per game. Last season, the Pack was one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the league as they shot 37.1 percent from long distance, which was third-best in the RMAC. The Pack averaged 8.3 made treys per game last season.
 
Despite shooting 72.6 percent from the free throw line, which is 10th in the RMAC, the Pack is averaging 20.5 free throw attempts per game, which is sixth-best in the league and they have shot double-digit free throws in 24 of its 26 games and have made 20 or more free throws in a game five times, including going 35-for-36 at the line in last Thursday's game at Fort Lewis. The 35 made free throws were the most made in a game by the Pack since making 34 free throws against Nebraska-Kearney on Dec. 10, 2005. The 35 made free throws are tied for the 12th most made in a Division II game this season.

Once again, the Pack is among the top assist teams in the RMAC as they enter this week's action fifth in the RMAC in assists per game as they are averaging 14.6 per game. The Pack has recorded 380 assists this season and has assisted on 55.2 percent of its 689 made field goals on the year. The Pack has recorded 10 or more assists 21 times in 26 games. Last season, the Pack finished third in the RMAC in assists as they averaged 14.4 per game. On the season, the Pack had four players record 50 or more assists and had six games with 20 or more assists. The Pack recorded an assist on nearly 52 percent of its made field goals.
 
ABOUT MSU DENVER
MSU Denver comes into Thursday's road game with CSU Pueblo having won four of its last five games with the lone loss being a 66-61 loss at home to Mines last Tuesday. After the loss to Mines, the Roadrunners, who captured the 2000 and 2002 NCAA Division II National Championships, began a new win streak with a 78-69 overtime victory last Saturday at Regis. MSU Denver is sporting a 19-7 overall record and is tied with Regis for second place in the RMAC standings with a 13-5 record.                                             
 
The Roadrunners are 9-4 on the road this season, including a 6-2 mark in RMAC play and have won two straight road games since that double overtime loss at Colorado Mesa. MSU Denver posted a 10-3 home record, including a 7-3 home mark in RMAC play.
 
MSU Denver, who was tabbed to finish second in the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll with 176 points and two first-place votes, has three players averaging in double figures as senior forward Brayden Carter leading the way as he is averaging 15.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 64 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free throw line and has tallied double figures in 23 games and has posted eight double-doubles.
 
In addition to Carter, senior forward Caleb McGill is averaging 14.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game and is shooting 58 percent from the field, 50 percent from the 3-point line and 79 percent at the free throw line, and has reached double figures in 24 games, including four double-doubles, while sophomore guard Logan Threatt is averaging 10.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and is shooting 49 percent from the field, 44 percent from the 3-point line and 78 percent from the free throw line and has 12 double-digit games.
 
As a team, MSU Denver is averaging 78.1 points per game and is allowing 69.8 points per game. The Roadrunners are second in the RMAC in field goal percentage (49.3 percent), fourth in the RMAC in free throw percentage (75.1 percent), and leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage (38.4 percent). MSU Denver is also second in rebounding (36.8 rebounds per game) and is third in the RMAC in 3-point field goal percentage defense (33.3 percent) and fourth in assists (14.8 assists per game). On defense, MSU Denver's opponents are shooting 42.4 percent from the floor.
 
The Roadrunners are coached by Dan Ficke, who is in his third season at MSU Denver and has compiled a 54-34 record with the Roadrunners and is 111-59 in his sixth season as a collegiate head coach as he spent three seasons at Belmont Abbey.
 
Thursday's game marks the 25th all-time meeting on the hardwood between the two schools as MSU Denver holds a commanding 20-4 all-time lead in the series. The Roadrunners have won eight of the last 10 meetings in the series, but the Pack collected a 77-62 win last season in Pueblo. MSU Denver holds an 8-3 lead in Pueblo and also leads 9-1 on its home court.
 
ABOUT COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
Colorado School of Mines, who plays at UCCS on Thursday before traveling to CSU Pueblo on Saturday, has won eight straight games and 23 of its 26 games overall. The Orediggers, who are ranked No. 5 in the latest NABC D-II Coaches' Poll, is sporting a 23-3 overall record and captured its 11th all-time RMAC regular season title and first in six seasons thanks to its 83-52 home win last Thursday over Regis. Mines' lone losses this season have come against Lubbock Christian (89-78) in the season opener, against West Liberty (92-87) in Las Vegas and at Regis (94-91) on Jan. 25. 
 
The Orediggers are 10-2 away from home this season, including a 7-1 mark on the road in RMAC play and they have won three straight road games since that loss at Regis. Mines is 13-1 at home and went a perfect 10-0 at home in RMAC play.
 
Mines, who was tabbed as the favorite to win the RMAC title in the Preseason Coaches' Poll, is led offensively by graduate student guard Majok Deng, who is averaging 15.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 46 percent from the field, 36 percent from the 3-point line and an RMAC-best 87.9 percent from the free throw line. Deng has scored in double figures in 17 games and is averaging 15.5 points per game in RMAC play.
 
In addition to Deng, redshirt senior forward Riley Schroeder is averaging 12.1 points per game and is shooting 53 percent from the field, 40 percent from the 3-point line, and 78 percent from the free throw line. He has scored in double figures 16 times on the year. In addition, sophomore guard Markus Pastorcic-Straun is averaging 10.8 points per game and is shooting 55 percent from the field and 78 percent at the free throw line.
 
As a team, Mines is second in the RMAC in scoring at 83.4 points per game and leads the league in scoring margin at +14.8 per game as they are allowing 68.7 points per game. Mines is shooting an RMAC-leading 50.7 percent from the field and is second in the RMAC in 3-point shooting at 38.1 percent. Mines is second in the  RMAC in treys per game (9.3) and leads the league in assists (18.8), rebound margin (+5.0) and fourth in steals (8.2).  
 
Mines is coached by Pryor Orser, who is in his 24th season with the Orediggers and has compiled a 468-230 overall record and is 334-156 in RMAC play. Orser is the winningest coach in RMAC history and has led Mines to six regular season RMAC titles, two RMAC Tournament title, and 13 NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
Thursday's game marks the second of two meetings between the two schools this season as the Pack leads the all-time series, 36-32, but has lost 10 straight games in the series, including suffering a 96-75 loss earlier this season to the Orediggers in Golden, Colo. The Pack leads the series, 22-14 in Pueblo, but Mines leads the series, 18-14 in Golden.