PUEBLO, Colo. (November 13, 2026) – Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball opened its 2026-27 season here Friday evening on a winning note as the ThunderWolves used a strong second-half shooting performance and clutch plays down the stretch to rally past Midwestern State, 69-64, in front of nearly 1,000 fans in Massari Arena.
The victory helped the Pack open the season with a win for the third consecutive season and extended its home court win streak to 11 consecutive games, which is tied for the 13th longest active home win streak in Division II men's basketball. Midwestern State fell to 1-1 on the season.
Trailing 62-61 with 1:33 remaining in the contest, the ThunderWolves, who earned 20 votes in the Preseason NABC Division II Coaches' Poll and were tabbed to finish second in the Preseason Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, closed the game by scoring eight of the final 10 points to secure the season-opening victory. Senior forward
Kyren Allen (Commerce City, Colo./Trinidad State) converted a layup with 1:21 remaining to give the Pack a 63-62 advantage before fifth-year senior guard
Jaden Kennis (Windsor, Colo./MSU Denver) connected on two free throws with 38 seconds left to extend the lead to three points.
After Midwestern State pulled within 65-64 with 25 seconds remaining on a lay-up from Theo Grant, sophomore guard
Bryce Riehl (Colorado Springs, Colo./Mesa Ridge) sank two free throws with 18 seconds left to push the lead back to three. Kennis then came up with a crucial blocked shot on a potential game-tying three-point attempt from Charles McClennahan, Jr., with four seconds remaining, and junior guard
Quis Davis (Mansfield, Ohio/Northeastern JC) collected the rebound and connected on two free throws with four seconds left to seal the five-point victory.
"That is what we talk about. Defense and rebounding and tonight we did that. That was a tough gritty November win against a good team from the Lone Star Conference," second-year Pack head coach
Zach Ruebesam said after the game. "I'm so proud of our guys because you have to win games where you don't play your best offensively, and we didn't play good offensively tonight. We turned it over 18 times, but the grit and toughness we showed defensively, that is who our program is. If we can win a game like this on November 13th, the ceiling for this team is extremely high."
CSU Pueblo, which trailed 32-29 at halftime, outscored the Mustangs 40-32 in the second half and shot 60 percent from the field after intermission to overcome an eight-point first-half deficit. The ThunderWolves also held Midwestern State to just 1-of-10 shooting from the three-point line in the second half and finished the contest with a commanding 39-26 advantage on the boards.
The Pack was paced offensively by senior guard/forward
Marzouq Abdur-Razaaq (Aurora, Colo./UCCS), who finished with a team-high 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds in 33 minutes of action. Abdur-Razaaq went 6-for-8 from the field, added three assists and recorded a blocked shot in his Pack debut.
Along with Abdur-Razaaq, Kennis added 13 points, including a perfect 4-for-4 effort at the free throw line, while Allen finished with nine points and five rebounds. Riehl and junior guard
Macoy Terry (Castle Pines, Colo./South Dakota Mines) each chipped in six points, with Terry adding a team-high six assists and six rebounds, while Riehl recorded a game-high and career-high six steals.
Riehl, though, had his streak of hitting a three-pointer snapped a nine straight games dating to last season as he was 0-for-6 from long distance on the night. The Pack was just 2-for-10 from the 3-point line in the game.
The ThunderWolves also received valuable contributions from their bench as senior guard/forward
Corbin Garver (Colorado Springs, Colo./Air Academy) scored six points and grabbed three rebounds, while Davis added five second-half points and two rebounds.
Midwestern State was led by Aric Demings, who scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 shooting at the free throw line. Theo Grant, Vonte Sanders and Cyrus Shaw each added seven points for the Mustangs, while Josiah Kirkwood and Kadon Jackson finished with six points apiece. Jackson pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
The Mustangs jumped out to an early advantage as they used a 12-4 scoring run to turn a 4-4 tie into a 16-8 lead following a three-pointer from Charles McClennahan, Jr., with 10:43 remaining in the opening half. Midwestern State maintained its eight-point advantage at 21-13 with 8:38 left before the ThunderWolves began to chip away at the deficit.
CSU Pueblo responded with an 8-2 run that was highlighted by a three-pointer from Kennis and a putback basket from freshman forward
Corey Hill (Cheyenne Wells, Colo./Cheyenne Wells) to pull within 23-21 with 5:48 remaining. Hill then connected on two free throws to tie the game at 23 with 5:19 left in the half. Hill finished with four points and two rebounds in his first collegiate game.
The Mustangs answered with seven consecutive points to reclaim a 30-23 advantage with 2:33 remaining before the Pack closed the half by scoring six of the final eight points. Ibn Abdur-Razaaq scored on a layup and Terry added a jumper in the final 62 seconds to send CSU Pueblo into the locker room trailing by just three points at 32-29.
In the opening half, CSU Pueblo shot just 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from the field and was 2-for-6 from the three-point line, while Midwestern State shot 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from the floor and connected on three of its nine three-point attempts.
The ThunderWolves came out of the halftime break with renewed energy on the offensive end as they scored eight of the first 13 points to tie the contest at 37 following a layup from Allen with 17:05 remaining. After the Mustangs regained a two-point advantage, Riehl converted a layup off a steal to tie the game at 39 before Garver scored on a putback and completed a three-point play to give the Pack a 42-39 lead with 14:06 left in the contest.
CSU Pueblo continued to build its advantage and took its largest lead of the game at 53-48 with 8:41 remaining following a three-point play from Davis. The Mustangs, however, responded with six consecutive points to retake the lead at 54-53 following a layup from Demings with 7:24 left.
The two teams continued to trade baskets and leads over the next several minutes as neither team was able to gain more than a two-point advantage. Abdur-Razaaq connected on two free throws to give the Pack a 57-56 lead with 6:19 remaining before Midwestern State regained the advantage at 58-57 on a basket from Sanders with 4:12 left.
Riehl answered just four seconds later with a fast-break layup to put CSU Pueblo back in front, 59-58, but Kirkwood scored on a layup with 3:41 remaining to give the Mustangs their final lead of the evening at 60-59.
The Pack regained the lead with 1:50 remaining when Abdur-Razaaq grabbed an offensive rebound and converted the putback to make the score 61-60. After Demings connected on two free throws to give Midwestern State a 62-61 advantage with 1:33 left, Allen responded with a layup just 12 seconds later to put the ThunderWolves back in front for good at 63-62.
For the game, CSU Pueblo finished shooting 49 percent (24-of-49) from the field, including an impressive 15-of-25 effort (60 percent) in the second half. The Pack struggled from beyond the arc, connecting on just 2-of-10 three-point attempts, but made up for it by scoring 42 points in the paint and converting 19-of-27 attempts (70.4 percent) at the free throw line.
Meanwhile, Midwestern State finished shooting 41.8 percent (23-of-55) from the field, including just 39.3 percent (11-of-28) in the second half. The Mustangs were held to 21.1 percent (4-of-19) shooting from beyond the three-point arc and connected on 14-of-18 attempts (77.8 percent) from the free throw line.
In addition to holding a 39-26 advantage in rebounds, the ThunderWolves also recorded 14 assists, eight steals and four blocked shots. CSU Pueblo held a 42-30 advantage in points in the paint, a 9-4 edge in second-chance points and received 20 points from its bench.
The contest featured 13 lead changes and eight ties, with the ThunderWolves overcoming 18 turnovers to earn the victory. Midwestern State finished with 12 turnovers and held a 20-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
CSU Pueblo will conclude its season-opening two-game homestand on Saturday, Nov. 14, when the ThunderWolves host Cameron University (0-2) for a 6 p.m. non-conference, South Central Region contest at Massari Arena. Cameron suffered a 92-88 loss on Friday at UCCS.
