DENVER – The Metropolitan State University of Denver men's basketball team dropped a tough contest in a hostile environment on Friday night, falling to crosstown rival Regis 74-57 at the Regis Fieldhouse.

"There are some things fundamentally that we need to improve on," MSU Denver head coach Michael Bahl said Friday night following the game. "It's just growing pains we have to go through. I think you give Coach Brady (Bergeson) and Regis all the credit. They played extremely well. They made some really tough shots. They made it hard for us."

A 3-pointer from junior guard Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif./Tracy) provided the first points of the game, but MSU Denver's 3-0 early lead proved to be its only lead of the night as Regis took control and didn't look back. The Rangers (5-2, 2-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) led 36-25 at halftime thanks to 51.9 percent shooting (14 of 27) in the opening 20 minutes, holding the Roadrunners (1-4, 0-2 RMAC) to just 35.7 percent shooting as the teams headed to the locker room.

A layup from junior guard Garrett Carter (Rialto, Calif./Etiwanda) cut the Regis lead to eight at 45-37 with 12:29 remaining, but that was as close as the Roadrunners would get for the remainder of the night. MSU Denver was 10 of 28 from the field in each half, shooting 35.7 percent for the game and just 26.1 percent (6 of 23) from long range.

Asah led a balanced offensive effort for the Roadrunners, scoring nine points to lead the team. Carter and senior guard Enrique Cortés Zotes (Malaga, Spain/I.E.S.) added eight points each, while Carter led the team with a season-high four assists. Freshman guard Demetrius Jackson (Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro) scored seven points, while junior forward Kendall McIntosh (Oakley, Calif./Freedom) topped the squad with eight rebounds.

The rebounding battle was close, as Regis grabbed 36 boards while the Roadrunners had 35. Regis shot 48.3 percent for the contest and made 13 of 16 (81.3%) free throws. Eight of those free throw makes came from leading scorer Christian Little, who had 24 for the Rangers. Jarrett Brodbeck added 20 points as the guard combo shot 16 of 27 (59.3%) from the field.

On the bright side, all 10 MSU Denver players who took the court scored at least one bucket. The Roadrunners' deep roster led to a 25-14 advantage in bench points. While it's tough to glean positives from a loss to a crosstown rival, Bahl is confident his team will use the game as a learning experience.

"It's only going to make us battle-tested," he said. "We're going to find out what we're made of, because it doesn't get any easier tomorrow night."

The Roadrunners will look to turn things around as they face a 2-6 Colorado Christian team on Saturday at 7 p.m. MT. The Cougars fell to Chadron State on Friday, 80-79.