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DENVER - Metro State held off a late run by Colorado Mines to win 66-62 at home on Friday night and break a two-way tie with the Orediggers for first place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.  The Roadrunners improved to 10-2 overall and 7-1 in the RMAC, while CSM fell to 10-2 and 6-2.

Metro State played a dominating first half, leading 22-8 with 7:25 left and taking a 9-point lead at 26-17 into halftime after holding CSM to just 3-of-20 (.150) shooting in the first half.

The Orediggers opened the second half with a 3-pointer and a deep 2-pointer by Gordon Galloway from the left corner as CSM quickly cut the lead to four.  Metro State survived the early run and maintained a two-possession lead until the final minute, and led by as much as 12 points.

The Roadrunners held a 59-51 lead with 1:51 left in the game after a pair of free throws by Quaran Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Friends' Central H.S.).  An 8-1 run by the Orediggers trimmed the lead to 60-59 with 13 seconds left as Metro State struggled at the line.

Glenn Miller (Sacramento, Calif./Foothill H.S.) then nailed two free throws to push the lead back to three with 10 seconds left and #A.J. Flournoy# hit 1-of-2 to make it a two-possession game at 63-59 with seven seconds left.  Dale Minschwaner then nailed a 3-pointer for Mines with three ticks on the clock to cut the lead back to one.

Brandon Jefferson (Flower Mound, Texas/Lewisville H.S.) made 1-of-2 for the Roadrunners with one second left, leaving Mines with a chance to win.  But the Orediggers heaved the inbounds pass deep and it went untouched and out of bounds at the other end, turning the ball over and giving it back to the Roadrunners in CSM's defensive end.  Quaran Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Friends' Central H.S.) made two free throws with one second left to seal the win.

The Roadrunners made just 7-of-12 at the line in the final minute.

Johnson scored a career high 16 points, hitting 6-of-7 at the line and 5-of-11 from the floor.  Reggie Evans (Aurora, Colo./Rangeview H.S.) led all scorers with 22 points, shooting 9-of-16, and adding seven rebounds and three steals.  Jonathan Morse (Boulder, Colo./Fairview H.S.) scored eight points and had eight rebounds.

Two Roadrunners stood out on defense as #A.J. Flournoy# tied a career high with five steals and a career high eight rebounds (all on the defensive end) and Shakir Johnson (Los Angeles, Calif./Dorsey H.S.) had three blocked shots and six rebounds off the bench.

Metro State held a 40-32 rebounding advantage and shot 42.9 percent for the game.  Mines shot 41.2 percent for the game, but hit at 58.1 percent in the second half after the miserable 15.0 percent in the first half.

The Roadrunners will host Colorado Christian at 7 p.m. on Saturday.