COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball shot a season-high 55 percent from the field and held the top scoring offense in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference to a season-low 73 points en route to posting an 82-73 victory over UCCS at the Gallogly Events Center on the UCCS campus. 
 
With the win, the ThunderWolves improved to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in the RMAC, while UCCS fell to 8-6 overall and 3-3 in league play. The victory was also the second straight for the Pack to open the New Year, as they posted a 70-57 home non-conference win last Saturday over New Mexico Highlands. 
 
Thursday's win was keyed by a Pack offense that scored 49 points in the second half and shot 61 percent from the field and 64 percent from the 3-point line to hold off the Mountain Lions, who scored 41 points after halftime and entered the game averaging 90 points per game. UCCS hadn't scored under 80 points in any game this season before Thursday's contest. 


Sophomore guard/forward Jordan Blair (Keller, Texas/Keller Central) paced the balanced Pack offense with 17 points, while sophomore guard Mac Terry (Castle Pines, Colo./South Dakota Mines) added 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the 3-point line and dished out a game-high seven assists and junior guard Dylan Sanders (Aurora, Colo./Pearl River CC) added 11 points and six rebounds off the bench.
 
The other two Pack players in double figures were redshirt guard/forward Corbin Garver (Colorado Springs, Colo./Air Academy) and junior forward Kyren Allen (Commerce City, Colo./Trinidad State), each had 10 points, and Allen added eight rebounds.
 
After holding a slim 33-32 lead at the half, the Pack opened the second half on an 11-5 run to push out to a 44-37 lead just three-plus minutes out of the locker room. The run began with five straight points from Blair and was capped by a driving lay-up from redshirt junior guard Jaden Kennis (Windsor, Colo./MSU Denver). Kennis finished the game with seven points and seven rebounds.
 
The Mountain Lions, though, responded with a 15-3 run over the next four-plus minutes to take a 52-47 lead. The run began with two free throws from Xavier Martinez after Kennis was called for a technical foul and was capped by a trey from Tre Lucia with 13:16 left in the game.
 
CSU Pueblo came right back as they scored eight of the next 10 points, including capping the run with back-to-back treys from freshman guard Bryce Riehl (Colorado Springs, Colo./Mesa Ridge) to take a 55-54 lead with 11:43 remaining. The lead was shortlived as UCCS used a 7-2 run to take a 61-57 lead with 8:54 left in the game.
 
The Pack would answer back with a 12-7 run capped by a turnaround jumper by Kennis to push in front 69-68 with 3:34 remaining. Howery had five of his nine points during the run.
UCCS would once again retake the lead at 70-69 thanks to two free throws by Martinez with 3:13 remaining, before the Pack closed out the game on a 13-3 run, including going 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the final 75 seconds to seal the victory. The nine-point lead at the end of the game was the largest lead of the game for the Pack.
 
Martinez paced the Mountain Lions with a game-high 18 points and added four rebounds, three assists, and three steals. In addition to Martinez, Marzouq Ibn Abdur-Razaaq added 12 points, while Mario Williams, Jr., had 11 points in the loss.
 
UCCS jumped out to a 20-13 lead just 11-plus minutes into the game, thanks to making three of its first seven 3-pointers, including two from Williams, Jr. 
 
The Pack responded with a 9-6 run to pull within 26-22 following a trey from Terry with 4:20 left in the opening half. After a free throw by Abdur-Razaaq gave UCCS a 27-22 lead, the Pack used an 8-0 run to take a 30-27 lead with 2:09 left in the half.
 
Following a trey by Martinez, 18 seconds later, that tied the game at 30, the Pack scored three of the final five points of the opening half to take its one-point lead at the half.
 
For the game, the Pack was 30-for-54 from the field (55.6 percent) and 12-for-24 (50 percent) from the 3-point line and held a 34-22 edge on the boards. Meanwhile, UCCS shot 41 percent from the field and 31 percent from the 3-point line.
 
The Pack, though, lost the turnover battle (14-6) as UCCS held a 22-6 edge in points off turnovers. After having 10 turnovers in the first half, the Pack committed just four turnovers in the second half.
 
CSU Pueblo's bench outscored UCCS, 37-30, and the Pack had 15 assists on 30 made baskets. UCCS had just eight assists on 24 made baskets.
 
The Pack also was strong at the free throw line as they were 10-for-12 (83.3 percent) at the line, including going 8-for-9 at the line in the second half. UCCS was 17-for-23 (73.9 percent) at the line.
 
The Pack will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 10, as they play host to Colorado Christian (6-7 overall, 1-4 RMAC) for a 3 p.m. RMAC contest in Massari Arena. The Cougars, who were idle on Thursday, have won three straight games, including posting an 88-87 home win on Tuesday over UCCS.