CHADRON, Neb. – The Metropolitan State University of Denver men's basketball team found itself in too deep a hole too late in the second half of Saturday's Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener at Chadron State, ultimately dropping the contest 76-67 despite Druce Asah's (Tracy, Calif./Tracy) game-high 17 points.

"Give all the credit to Chadron State and Coach Houston Reed," MSU Denver head coach Michael Bahl said following the game. "He had his team ready to play. However, one game doesn't define your season, and we will bounce back like all good teams do and be ready to compete next weekend."

The Roadrunners (1-3, 0-1 RMAC) and Eagles (3-4, 1-0 RMAC) were neck-and-neck in the first half before Chadron State escaped to the locker room with a 35-33 lead. MSU Denver shot at a solid 48 percent clip during the opening 20 minutes, going 12 of 25 from the floor. The Roadrunners also hit 8 of 9 free throws in the opening half as Garrett Carter (Rialto, Calif./Etiwanda) led the team with 10 points.

The tides turned during a five-minute stretch from about 15 minutes to 10 minutes remaining in the second half. The Eagles took off on a 16-4 run, erasing a 41-40 MSU Denver lead to take a 56-45 lead of their own. During that stretch, Chadron State made 8 of 8 free throws while the Roadrunners were 2 of 10 from the field and 0 of 5 from long range.

The deficit proved insurmountable at that point, as the Chadron State lead ballooned to as many as 17 points while MSU Denver never got within less than seven points for the remainder of the game. The Roadrunners shot just 35.3 percent in the second half while the Eagles shot at a 40 percent clip.

The free throw discrepancy in the second half equated to the difference in the final score, as the Eagles ended up with nine more points than the Roadrunners from the charity stripe in the closing period. MSU Denver went just 9 of 20 in the second half (45 percent) while Chadron State was 18 of 25 (72 percent).

Asah's 17 points gave him the team lead for the second time this season, and he leads the squad with 14.8 points per game through four contests. Asah made seven of his eight free throw attempts on Saturday while going 5 of 10 from the floor, adding two rebounds and two assists. Kendall McIntosh (Oakley, Calif./Freedom) (11 points) and Carter (10 points) joined Asah in double-figures.

Junior forward Jacob Inclan (Tucson, Ariz./Sunnyside) offered quality play for the Roadrunners on Saturday, scoring seven points and grabbing a season-best and game-high nine rebounds in 20 minutes on the court. Senior forward Jaryn Taylor (Yucaipa, Calif./Yucaipa), seeing his first extended action this season, scored eight points and grabbed six boards with an efficient 4 of 6 night from the floor in 19 minutes.

Chadron State's Diontae Champion led the Eagles with 16 points while Brady Delimont offered 14 and Adoum Mbang chipped in 10. Chadron State shot 41.5 percent in the contest (22 of 53) while MSU Denver shot 40.7 percent (24 of 59) in front of a big crowd at the Chicoine Center.

While next weekend features two road games for MSU Denver, neither are far from home. The Roadrunners will play at Regis at 7 p.m. on Friday before a 7 p.m. game at Colorado Christian on Saturday.

Stay tuned to @MSUDenverMBB and @MSUDenverSports on Twitter for more coverage of MSU Denver men's basketball.