DENVER - No. 7 Metropolitan State University of Denver recovered from a slow start to beat hot-shooting Colorado State University-Pueblo 75-74 on Sunday in Pueblo. The Roadrunners improved to 7-2 overall and 2-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, while CSU-Pueblo dropped to 5-4 and 2-2.
 
Dalante Dunklin (San Diego, Calif./Francis W. Parker H.S.) scored a career-high 24 points, shooting 9-of-12 from the floor. He also had six assists in the win.
 
Mitch McCarron (Brisbane, Australia/Genesis Christian College) scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half and also had five assists in the game. Nicholas Kay (Tamworth, Australia/Newington College) chipped in with 13 points and Jourdon Hunter (Denver, Colo./Kennedy H.S.) had nine. Sam Porter (Arvada, Colo./Arvada West H.S.) pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
 
The Roadrunners got off to a slow start, trailing 8-0 early in the game, but recovered to take a 39-37 lead into halftime. The ThunderWolves were on fire in the first half, hitting 8-of-14 3-pointers, but MSU Denver held a 16-to-8 advantage on the boards.
 
MSU Denver built a nine-point lead early in the second half, but the ThunderWolves heated back up with an 11-0 run to take a 50-48 lead with 11:18 remaining. CSU-Pueblo then stretched its lead to five.
 
The Roadrunners finally took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Dunklin with 3:49 to go, breaking a 61-61 tie. Dunklin and Hunter each hit a pair of free throws in the final 15 seconds to secure the win.
 
The ThunderWolves hit 10-of-20 from 3-point range in the game and shot 52.4 percent from the floor. The Roadrunners forced 16 turnovers and owned a 28-to-19 rebounding margin.
 
MSU Denver will host Black Hills State at 7 p.m. on Friday.