Box Score

GUNNISON, Colo. - The No. 15 Metro State men's basketball slipped past Western State 69-67 on Saturday night in Gunnison.  The Roadrunners improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, while WSC dropped to 2-5 overall and 0-3 in the RMAC.

Metro State led by 16 points with just over six minutes left, but the Mountaineers used a 19-4 run to cut the lead to one point at 68-67 with 29 seconds left in regulation.  The Roadrunners converted just 1-of-6 free throws in the final 28 seconds, leaving WSC with a pair of opportunities to win the game in the closing seconds.  Dan Biber missed a layup with nine seconds left that would have put WSC ahead by one point, and Alex Hart missed on a last second 3-point attempt.

Donte Nicholas (Washington, D.C./Oakton H.S.) led the Roadrunners with 19 points, hitting 7-of-12 from the floor, including 3-for-5 from the outside.  Reggie Evans (Aurora, Colo./Rangeview H.S.) and Brian Minor (Clovis, Calif./Clovis H.S.) each had 11 points, though the two normally hot shooters combined to shoot just 8-of-22 from the floor.  Jonathan Morse (Boulder, Colo./Fairview H.S.) narrowly missed his second double-double in the past two games, scoring 10 points and pulling down eight rebounds.

The Roadrunners shot 46.4 (26-of-56) percent, including 6-of-15 (40 percent) from the outside, but hit just 11-of-22 at the free throw line.  They also forced 18 turnovers and committed just 13.

Dan Hobin led WSC with 12 points.

Metro State will head to Mesa State for an 8 p.m. game on Sunday night.