PUEBLO, Colo. – The Colorado State University Pueblo men's basketball team continues Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play this week with a pair of games against Front Range opponents, beginning with a home match-up in Massari Arena against UCCS on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m., before traveling to Colorado Christian on Thursday, Feb. 12 for an 8 p.m. game.

The ThunderWolves enter the week with a 15-7 overall record and a 9-5 RMAC mark, tied for fourth place with Adams State and Colorado School of Mines in the conference standings with three weeks remaining in the regular season. CSU Pueblo snapped a three-game skid last week and has now won eight of its last 11 games overall, including back-to-back home victories over then No. 13 Black Hills State (71-53) and Chadron State (74-65) last week.

VS. UCCS
Tuesday, Feb. 10 | 7:30 p.m. | Massari Arena
CSU Pueblo will conclude a three-game homestand Tuesday night when it welcomes UCCS (12-10, 7-7 RMAC) to Massari Arena. The ThunderWolves defeated the Mountain Lions earlier this season with an 82-73 road win on Jan. 8, extending their all-time series advantage to 50-20.

The Pack has been dominant in Massari Arena this season, posting a 10-2 home record and riding a six-game home court winning streak, which is the longest for the Pack since winning four straight games at home during the 2002-03 season. Defensively, CSU Pueblo ranks among the national leaders in scoring defense, allowing just 64.8 points per game, tied for 14th in NCAA Division II.

Offensively, sophomore guard/forward Jordan Blair (Keller, Texas/Keller Central) continues to lead the ThunderWolves at 14.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, while redshirt junior guard Jaden Kennis (Windsor, Colo./MSU Denver) adds 11.4 points and 5.3 boards per contest. CSU Pueblo has shot 36.9 percent from three-point range on the season and has held opponents to just 31.6 percent from beyond the arc, which is second in the RMAC.

UCCS comes in having dropped its last outing and is led by Marzouq Abdur-Razaaq (13.9 ppg) and Xavier Martinez (12.8 ppg, 4.9 apg). The Mountain Lions average 88.3 points per game but have struggled defensively, surrendering 86.5 points per contest.

AT COLORADO CHRISTIAN
Thursday, Feb. 12 | 8:00 p.m. | CCU Event Center
Following Tuesday's contest, CSU Pueblo will travel to Lakewood, Colo., to face Colorado Christian (11-11, 6-8 RMAC) on Thursday night. The ThunderWolves earned a 70-49 home victory over the Cougars earlier this season on Jan. 10 and have won eight of the last 10 meetings in the series.

Colorado Christian enters the week riding a four-game winning streak and is led offensively by Pierce Bazil, who averages 18.3 points per game, one of the top scoring marks in the RMAC. Bazil was named this week's RMAC Offensive Player of the Week after putting up back-to-back games last week of 30-plus points to lead CCU to home wins over Chadron State (86-80) and South Dakota Mines (86-58).

The Cougars have been solid at home, posting a 7-4 record at the CCU Event Center and they have won four of their last five home games with the lone setback being a 69-56 loss to Mines on Jan. 17.

The Pack will look to carry its defensive identity on the road, as the Pack is allowing just 40.5 percent shooting from the field this season while owning a +8.6 scoring margin. The ThunderWolves are 5-5 away from home and will be playing their eighth RMAC road game of the season on Thursday night. The Pack, who is 3-4 on the road in RMAC play, has lost two straight league road games.

CSU PUEBLO NOTES:

CSU Pueblo's 15 wins are the most for the program since the 2016-17 season.

The ThunderWolves are 10-2 at home, including 6-1 in RMAC play.

CSU Pueblo was picked 12th in the RMAC preseason poll and enters the week tied for fourth place.

Head coach Zach Ruebesam is in his first season and owns the best debut start by a head coach in program history.