The Colorado State University-Pueblo men’s basketball (9-12) came out on fire against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foe Western New Mexico University (7-12), beating them 106-66, on Saturday, Feb. 2.
Saturday’s game was a complete domination over WNMU as CSU-Pueblo ended the weekend 1-1. Tonight’s win will help the Thunderwolves in the RMAC standings.
Wendell Lee, guard, had a big night for the Thunderwolves. After the first half, Lee had a double-double, with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Lee led the Thunderwolves to a 10-point lead first half lead and finished the game with 15 points and 16 rebounds.
After a tough night before, the game against WNMU was a good turnaround for Lee.
“The night before I let my team down by getting in foul trouble, so I wanted to come out tonight and give my best,” Lee said. “So I was praying to God that I could come out and give my best.”
Lee managed to only get one foul and made the right calls all night. He put himself in the right defensive opportunities without running the risk of putting a WNMU player on the free throw line.
“Tonight I wanted to be smart and grab the balls off the glass to take away their second chance opportunities, and maybe give us another opportunity,” Lee said.
In addition to Lee, Nathan Tigner, point guard, finished the game with 12 assists, ninth best for team history, and added seven points for the night. Five players scored in the double digits, including Ryan Arel, guard, who finished the night with the team high of 18 points.
“We’ve been playing good the last few games and I’ve been pleased,” head coach Ralph Turner said. “Last night we lost, so this was the kind of win my men needed.”
On top of the individual performances, the team had its best outing in years. The Thunderwolves scored over 100 points, the first time for the men’s basketball squad since 2006. It was the best performance under the coaching of Turner.
“Lee played good tonight, but he still has room for improvement,” Turner said. “This was a team win and everybody did something good tonight.”
CSU-Pueblo wanted to come out and show that last night’s loss wouldn’t haunt them, and Turner made sure he gave them a lecture before they headed into tonight’s game.
“I told my men that we played lousy last night and we had to bounce back from that,” Turner said. “No coach has magical words that make a team better, but I think tonight they really believed in what I told them about having heart.
Next week, CSU-Pueblo has a big match-up against UC-Colorado Springs and a win against this team could really boost the morale of this team, as well as its position in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings.
The game will begin at 7:30 p.m., on Saturday, at the Massari Arena.
