PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball opened the New Year Saturday afternoon with a hard-fought 70–57 victory over New Mexico Highlands in a non-conference match-up in Massari Arena.
The win snapped a two-game skid to close the 2025 calendar year and improved the ThunderWolves to 8-4 overall. NMHU fell to 4-11 on the season. Saturday's contest marked the final regular-season non-conference game for the Pack, who finished non-league play with a 6-2 record.
CSU Pueblo received strong contributions off the bench from junior guard Dylan Sanders (Aurora, Colo./Pearl River CC) and senior guard Sam Howery (Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary's), who combined for 17 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. Sanders finished with 12 points, three rebounds, and two assists, while Howery added five points, four rebounds, and tied a career-high with six assists.
Sophomore guard/forward Jordan Blair (Keller, Texas/Keller Central) led the Pack with 17 points, scoring 14 of those in the second half. Redshirt junior guard Jaden Kennis (Windsor, Colo./MSU Denver) contributed 12 points, eight rebounds, and tied a career-high with three steals, while redshirt sophomore forward Ty Adam (Severance, Colo./Severance) chipped in 10 points and six boards.
NMHU jumped out to a 9-5 lead just over four minutes into the contest before the Pack answered with a 19-12 run to take a 24-17 advantage with 7:15 remaining in the first half. The run was capped by five straight points from Sanders, including a dunk off a turnover.
The Cowboys trimmed the margin to 26-22 with 5:39 left in the half, but CSU Pueblo closed the opening period on an 11-2 run to take a 37-24 lead into the locker room. The surge was keyed by five points from sophomore guard Mac Terry (Castle Pines, Colo./South Dakota Mines) and capped by four straight points from Kennis, who scored eight of his 12 points in the first half.
Highlands opened the second half with a 14-1 run to pull even at 38-all with 13:59 remaining. The run was capped by a driving layup from Ibrahima Sacko, who finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
The Pack responded with a decisive 17-7 run over the next six minutes to push the lead back to double digits at 55-45. Blair scored nine of CSU Pueblo's 17 points during the stretch, opening and closing the run with layups.
NMHU made one final push, using an 8-1 run to cut the deficit to 56-53 with 5:33 left, but the ThunderWolves answered again. Four straight points from Howery, including a three-pointer with 4:32 remaining, jump-started an 8-1 run that was capped by a Blair dunk to restore a 64-54 cushion with 2:12 to play.
After the Cowboys trimmed the margin to 65-56, CSU Pueblo closed the game by scoring five of the final six points, punctuated by a three-pointer from Adam with 22 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
Ramiah Adedigba led NMHU with a game-high 18 points, while Sacko added 14 points and seven rebounds. Caileb Parham scored nine points, and BJ Comer finished with eight points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
CSU Pueblo shot 40 percent from the field and 27.6 percent (8-of-29) from three-point range, while holding NMHU to 39 percent shooting overall and 21 percent (3-of-14) from beyond the arc. The ThunderWolves are now 7-0 this season when holding opponents under 40 percent shooting.
The Pack held a 41-30 rebounding advantage, led by junior forward Kyren Allen (Commerce City, Colo./Trinidad State), who tied a career-high with nine boards. CSU Pueblo lost the turnover battle (18-14) but held a 23-14 edge in points off turnovers and dished out 14 assists on 19 made baskets.
CSU Pueblo also shot 77 percent (24-of-31) from the free-throw line, including 16-of-21 (76 percent) in the second half. NMHU finished 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) at the stripe.
The ThunderWolves return to RMAC play on Thursday, Jan. 8, traveling to Colorado Springs for a 7 p.m. match-up at UCCS. The Mountain Lions are 8-4 overall and 3-1 in league play.
