GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - The Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team suffered a 70–66 road loss here Thursday night to Colorado Mesa at Brownson Arena in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.
With the setback, the ThunderWolves fell to 13-6 overall and moved into a tie with Colorado School of Mines for fourth place in the RMAC standings with a 7-4 record, while Colorado Mesa improved to 12-7 overall and 8-3 in the league. The loss was the second straight for the Pack, as they snapped a season-high six-game winning streak with an 82-76 loss last Saturday at New Mexico Highlands.
The Pack, now 5-4 on the road this season, led for more than 27 minutes and built an 11-point advantage early in the second half before the Mavericks closed the game by scoring six of the final seven points to seal the come-from-behind home victory.
Freshman guard Bryce Riehl (Colorado Springs, Colo./Mesa Ridge) led the Pack offense with a team-high 15 points after going 5-for-9 from three-point range, while sophomore guard Jordan Blair (Keller, Texas/Keller Central) tallied 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. Redshirt sophomore guard/forward Corbin Garver (Colorado Springs, Colo./Air Academy) tied a season high with 12 points and added six rebounds off the bench as the Pack held a 38–8 edge in bench points.
After leading 37–32 at halftime, the Pack opened the second half on an 11–5 run to push the lead to 48–37 just over three minutes out of the locker room. The run began and ended with three-pointers from Riehl.
Colorado Mesa responded with an 18–4 run to take a 56–52 lead following two free throws by Ty Allred with 7:56 remaining. Following Allred's free throws, the Pack used a free throw from junior guard Dylan Sanders (Aurora, Colo./Pearl River CC) and a three-pointer from Riehl to retie the game at 59 with 6:41 left.
The Mavericks used a 6–4 run over the next four minutes to take a 62–60 lead with 2:31 remaining, capped by a hook shot from Clayton Jewell. Blair answered with a three-pointer with 1:58 remaining to give the Pack a 63–62 advantage.
Harvey White scored roughly 20 seconds later to help the Mavericks regain the lead at 64–63, but on the Pack's next possession, redshirt sophomore forward Ty Adam (Severance, Colo./Severance) converted a layup with 1:08 left to put CSU Pueblo back in front, 65–64.
Colorado Mesa reclaimed the lead on a layup and free throw by Allred to complete a three-point play and take a 67–65 advantage. Blair drew a foul with 26 seconds remaining and made the first free throw to pull the Pack within one, 67–66, but missed the second. On the rebound attempt, redshirt junior guard Jaden Kennis (Windsor, Colo./MSU Denver) was whistled for a foul, sending Allred to the line where he knocked down two free throws to extend the lead to 69–66.
On the Pack's ensuing possession, Blair drew a foul with six seconds left but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Ben Henderson secured the rebound, was fouled and made one of two free throws to cap the scoring.
Allred paced the Mavericks with a game-high 20 points and added eight rebounds, while White finished with 17 points and seven assists and Cohenj Gonzales tallied 11 points.
White opened the scoring with a three-pointer 36 seconds into the game, but the Pack answered with an 8–0 run capped by a layup from Adam to take an 8–3 lead with 16:49 remaining in the first half.
Colorado Mesa used a 13–7 run to take a 16–15 lead with 10:25 left before CSU Pueblo responded with a 13–7 run over the next four minutes to regain the advantage, 28–23. Garver scored seven of the Pack's 13 points during the run.
After Gonzales halted the run to pull the Mavericks within 28–25, the Pack closed the half on a 9–2 run to take a 37–27 lead following a three-pointer from Sanders with 1:25 left. Colorado Mesa closed the half by scoring the final five points, including a buzzer-beating three from Henderson, to cut the deficit to 37–32 at the break.
For the game, CSU Pueblo shot 43.5 percent from the field and 45.2 percent (14-for-31) from three-point range, including a 9-for-17 performance from beyond the arc in the first half. Over its last three games, the Pack has connected on 40 of 86 (46.5 percent) three-point attempts.
The Pack won the rebounding battle, 31–28, including 10 offensive boards that led to a 17–5 edge in second-chance points.
Colorado Mesa finished the contest shooting 49 percent from the field and 52.9 percent (9-for-17) from three-point range against the RMAC's top three-point shooting defense. CSU Pueblo entered the game leading the conference in both field-goal percentage defense (40.0 percent) and three-point field-goal percentage defense (28.9 percent).
Both teams took care of the basketball, combining for just 11 turnovers. The Pack committed a season-low six turnovers, while the Mavericks had five.
Colorado Mesa held a 6–4 edge in blocked shots, led by Jewell's three blocks. Senior forward Kaleb Mitchell (Fountain, Colo./Northern State) and junior forward Kyren Allen (Commerce City, Colo./Trinidad State College) each recorded two blocks for the Pack.
After neither team attempted a free throw in the first half, the teams combined to shoot 27 free throws in the second half. CSU Pueblo finished 6-for-11 (54.5 percent) at the line, while Colorado Mesa went 13-for-16 (81.3 percent).
The Pack will look to snap its two-game losing streak Saturday as it concludes its four-game road trip with a 3 p.m. RMAC match-up at Westminster University in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Griffins enter the contest 7-12 overall and 2-9 in conference play following its 74-65 home loss Thursday to Colorado Christian. The Pack opened RMAC play on Dec. 4 with a 65-56 home win over the Griffins.
