DENVER, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo men's used a dominant second-half performance here Thursday evening as the ThunderWolves extended their win streak to five straight games following a 67-58 victory over MSU Denver in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action at the Auraria Event Center.
With the victory, the Pack improves to 18-7 overall and 12-5 in the RMAC, while MSU Denver fell to 8-17 overall and 6-11 in the league. The win kept the Pack in fourth place in the RMAC standings and is now one game behind Fort Lewis and Colorado Mesa, who are both tied for third in the league standings.
The Pack outscored the Roadrunners 44-35 over the final 20 minutes after the two teams battled to a 23-23 tie at halftime.
CSU Pueblo shot just 25 percent from the field in the opening half but caught fire after the break, connecting on 48.1 percent (13-of-27) from the floor and knocking down six three-pointers in the second half to seize control of the contest.
Junior guard
Dylan Sanders (Aurora, Colo./Pearl River CC) led all scorers with 17 points, finishing a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line, while adding four rebounds and two assists. Sanders made four of those free throws in the final 32 seconds of the game.
Sophomore guard/forward
Jordan Blair (Keller, Texas/Keller Central) added 13 points and six rebounds, and redshirt junior guard
Jaden Kennis (Windsor, Colo./MSU Denver) contributed 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds off the bench against his former team.
Freshman guard
Bryce Riehl (Colorado Springs, Colo./Mesa Ridge) was the fourth Pack player in double figures with 10 points as he was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc to help the Pack bench to 20 points as they outscored MSU Denver's bench, 20-10.
After MSU Denver briefly grabbed momentum midway through the second half, CSU Pueblo responded with a decisive 12-0 scoring run with 13:49 remaining to build its largest lead of the night at 13 points
The ThunderWolves controlled the tempo throughout the contest, holding the lead for 31:16 of game time and forcing 15 MSU Denver turnovers that resulted in 20 points on the offensive end.
CSU Pueblo also held advantages in fast-break scoring (25-9) and held a 41-39 edge on the boards, including 12 offensive boards.
The Pack finished the night shooting 35.6 percent (21-of-59) from the field, 32 percent from the 3-point line and 72.7 percent at the free throw line. MSU Denver shot 35 percent from the field, 26 percent from the 3-point line and 82 percent at the line.
MSU Denver was paced offensively by 15 points and five rebounds from Logan Threatt, while Daniel Thomason totaled 12 points and Adam Hackett finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The fourth double-digit scorer was Amare Bethel as he had 10 points.
CSU Pueblo will conclude the road portion of its 2025-26 schedule on Saturday, Feb. 21 with a 3 p.m. game in Golden, Colo., against Colorado School of Mines. The Pack collected 63-54 win over the Orediggers at Massari Arena on Jan. 15.
