PUEBLO, Colo. – No. 8 University of Colorado Colorado Springs used an 11-0 run midway through the second half to take its first lead of the game at 44-41, but Colorado State-Pueblo went six-of-six at the free throw line in the final 30 seconds to claim the 67-63 decision. Derrick White led the Mountain Lions (19-3 / 13-3 RMAC) led the Mountain Lions with 16 points.

CSU-Pueblo scored on its first two possessions of the game and held UCCS off the scoreboard for nearly the first three minutes of the game. Shane Jensen tied it at 13-13 on a layup with 11:27 left in the half, but the Mountain Lions could not take a first half lead and trailed at halftime 32-25. 

UCCS took its first lead of the night on the run and gained a four-point advantage at 46-42 on a pair of free throws from Dalton Patten right after the under-10 timeout of the second half. The Mountain Lions couldn't continue the momentum and CSU-Pueblo retook the lead with 8:37 at 48-47. TreShawn Wilford put UCCS back up by two points at 52-50 with 5:31 to play, and White broke a 54-54 tie with a free throw at 3:20 to play.

The ThunderWolves took a five-point lead at 60-55 with 47 seconds to play, and the teams traded free throws with 39 seconds to play. CSU-Pueblo fouled White twice, and he made three of his four attempts to cut the lead down to two points at 61-59. The Mountain Lions forced a CSU-Pueblo turnover in front of the UCCS bench with 34.1 seconds to play, but a long pass on the inbounds play resulted in a ThunderWolf steal. Tim Billingsley picked up his fifth foul to stop the clock with 25.1 seconds to play, and CSU-Pueblo made both to push the lead to 63-59.

UCCS had a pair of three-point opportunities on the next possession, but CSU-Pueblo rebounded the second three-pointer and made both free throws on the foul. A layup from White with 5.5 seconds left made it a 65-61 game, and a five-second call against CSU-Pueblo provided UCCS the basketball. A quick two-pointer at the line three-point line by Darius Pardner made it a 65-63 game, but UCCS had to foul with 2.2 seconds left, and the ThunderWolves made the final two free throws to secure the 67-63 decision.

White went 10-of-14 at the free throw line and added three more field goals to collect his 16 points. Welsh led the rebounding effort with seven boards in addition to 12 points. White and Wilford both shared the team lead with three assists.

UCCS will remain on the road for trips next weekend to Adams State on Friday and Fort Lewis on Saturday. Adams State (14-6 / 10-6 RMAC) defeated Western New Mexico 80-67 tonight.