SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball was outscored 46-33 in the second half here Saturday afternoon as the ThunderWolves concluded their four-game road trip with a 79-71 victory over Westminster in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action at the Behnken Field House.
With the setback, the Pack concludes its road trip with a 1-3 record and moves its overall record to 13-7 overall and 7-5 in the RMAC, while Westminster improved to 8-12 overall and 3-9 in the league. The loss, coupled with Colorado School of Mines' 96-78 loss at Adams State and New Mexico Highlands' 98-51 home win over Regis, the Pack moves into a four-way tie for fourth place in the league standings with eight league games remaining.
The Pack, who led 38-33 at the half, saw the Griffins open the second half on 16-4 run to turn a five-point deficit into a 49-41 lead with 11:49 left in the game.
Following Westminster's run, the Pack responded with a 12-5 run capped by step-back jumper from sophomore guard
Jordan Blair (Keller, Texas/Keller Central) to take a 55-54 lead with 6:49 remaining in the game.
Blair led the way for the Pack as he tallied his second double-double of the season as he finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. He was 10-for-12 at the line as the Pack finished the game 15-for-21 from the free throw line. In addition to Blair, freshman guard
Bryce Riehl (Colorado Springs, Colo./Mesa Ridge) added 13 points, all of which came in the first half, while senior guard
Sam Howery (Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary's) added 10 points off the bench.
After Blair's basket, WU retook the lead at 57-55 on a trey with 6:35 remaining from Cole Kadoguchi and Kadoguchi hit another trey with 5:48 left to give the Griffins a 60-56 lead.
On the Pack's next trip down court, redshirt sophomore guard/forward
Corbin Garver (Colorado Springs, Colo./Air Academy) missed two free throws, and those two misses helped the Griffins extend its lead to 63-56 after Cameron Cohn was fouled on a three-point shot attempt and he made all three free throws.
After Cohn's free throws, the Pack scored six of the next nine points to pull within 66-62 following a driving lay-up by Howery with 3:23 remaining, but the Griffins used two treys and two free throws by Cohn to push its lead to 74-63 with 1:39 remaining.
Howery brought the Pack within nine on another lay-up with 1:26 left, but WU pushed its lead to 77-67 following a lay-up by Jack Jamele with 36 seconds left. The Pack would close the game by making four free throws sandwiched around two free throws by Colin Hayes to cap the scoring.
Frazier led the way for Westminster with 20 points, including scoring 12 of those points in the opening half. In addition to Frazier, Cohn had 12 points and five assists, while Kadoguchi added 11 points and Boston Painter had 10 points off the bench in the win.
CSU Pueblo shot 45.3 percent from the field and 40 percent from the three-point line but was outscored at the foul line as Westminster shot 19-for-21 (90.5 percent) at the line, including going 14-for-15 at the line in the second half.
Meanwhile, Westminster shot 50 percent from the field and 53 percent from the 3-point range, including shooting 57 percent from the field and 75 percent from downtown in the second half.
The Pack jumped out to an 8-5 lead just four-plus minutes into the contest, but the Griffins responded with a 12-5 run to pull within 17-13 with 12:04 left in the first half.
After the Griffins run, the Pack answered back with an 8-3 run capped by a trey from sophomore guard
Mac Terry (Castle Pines, Colo./South Dakota Mines) to take a 21-20 lead with 8:25 remaining.
The Pack, though, used a 15-6 run over the next seven-plus minutes to take a 33-26 lead, before Westminster scored seven of the final 14 points of the half to cut the Pack's lead to 38-33 at the half.
Riehl and Blair combined for 22 of the Pack's 38 first half points, while Frazier scored 12 of Westminster's 33 first-half points.
The Pack was outrebounded 32-27, but forced Westmninster into 13 turnovers that led to 21 points for the Pack. The Pack also had 14 assists and blocked four shots, while Westminster had 18 assists, including a game-high eight from Jake Nadauld.
CSU Pueblo will look to snap its three-game win streak next week as they return home to Massari Arena to open a three-game homestand on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m. against 19th-ranked Black Hills State.
