Western men improve to 2-0 in RMAC play

A double-digit halftime evaporated over second-half action, but visiting Western Colorado hit clutch free throws in the closing seconds to hold on for a 62-60 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win over host Colorado State Pueblo Saturday afternoon.

Western is 4-4 overall and 2-0 in the RMAC.

The first-half action was much to Western’s liking, as it trailed only after the opening basket of the game then steadily built a 12-point, 35-23 lead heading into the halftime break behind 45 percent shooting from the floor while limiting the ThunderWolves to just 37%.

The Mountaineers pushed the lead to 15 (44-29) on Tyler Halligan’s layup at the 16:42 mark in the second half after he had pulled down a defensive rebound at the other end of the floor.

The Pack responded with a 7-0 run to cut into their deficit, then slowly chipped away until pulling ahead at 60-59 with 2:29 to play on a layup and one by CSUP’s Dylan Sanders.

Both teams suffered through turnovers, missed shots and fouls over the final two minutes until a Halligan defensive rebound at one end became free throw opportunities for Aidan McDowell at the other end, when he was fouled driving in for a layup from the right side.

McDowell dropped in both free throws to lift Western back in front with 8 seconds on the clock.

Pueblo in-bounded and raced up the right sideline, but when trying to set a screen, the ball was knocked away by Mason Mottashed and scooped up by Jordan Kuac who was immediately fouled with now only 5 seconds on the clock.

Kuac sank the first of his chances before throwing his second off the rim to keep the ball in play, though the Pack did get off a desperation 3-pointer that was wildly off target to allow Western to escape with a win that gave it a 2-0 RMAC record after opening the conference season on the road.

Notes

McDowell led all scorers with 22 points, one of three Mountaineers to reach double figures as Halligan added 16 and Kuac chimed in with 10.

Western’s starters did the bulk of the scoring in the game, combining for 56 of the final 62 points.

Though the Mountaineers shot 57 percent from the floor in the second half, Pueblo had six more shots from their 48% shooting half to climb back into the game with a 10-point edge over the final 20 minutes.

Free throws played a significant role in the final score. The Mountaineers went to the line 24 times and hit 15 of those chances to shoot 62.5% from the stripe, while Pueblo hit just 9 of 20 from the line for a 45% afternoon from the foul line.

McDowell, on top of his two key tosses at the end, finished the day 7-of-8 from the line.

Up next

The Mountaineers continue RMAC action with their next two games, welcoming MSU Denver to Paul Wright Gym on Thursday, Dec. 11, followed by a visit from Regis University two days later.

This story was provided by the Western Colorado University sports information department.