SALT LAKE CITY – Grinding doesn't show up in the box score. Sometimes, it doesn't show up in the final score.

Grind is what the Metropolitan State University of Denver men's basketball team did for 40 minutes on Saturday evening, but Westminster denied the Roadrunners' late comeback as MSU Denver fell 74-69 at Behnken Field House in Salt Lake City.  

"I'm super proud of our team and how we competed tonight," MSU Denver head coach Michael Bahl said Saturday night. "We are trying to reestablish our culture and it's because of games like this that we are heading in the right direction."

After a disappointing offensive performance Friday night at Dixie State, MSU Denver (6-7, 4-5 and T-8^th Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) refused to do what a bad team would do the following night – lay down and die. Instead, the Roadrunners believed in their ability to acquire an offensive groove again and the result was a much better performance against the Griffins (6-7, 4-5 and T-8^th RMAC).

At the helm of MSU Denver's return to offensive relevance was junior guard Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif./Tracy), who played all but one minute in Saturday's game. Asah hit his first four 3-point attempts of the first half, scoring 13 points in the opening 20 minutes as the Roadrunners were 6 of 9 from long range in the opening period.

MSU Denver led 6-0 early on threes from Asah and junior teammate Garrett Carter (Rialto, Calif./Etiwanda), but the Griffins responded quickly to tie the game at six. Westminster would lead by as many as eight points in the first half, but Asah's shooting ability kept the Roadrunners within striking distance. A 9-0 run put Westminster up 37-29, but Carter made a layup just before the halftime buzzer to make it 37-31.

It seemed the game was getting away from MSU Denver early in the second half as the Griffins' lead ballooned to double-digits at 52-42 with 13:39 remaining. A trey from senior guard Enrique Cortes-Zotes followed by a dunk from junior forward Kendall McIntosh (Oakley, Calif./Freedom) put MSU Denver back within five in no time, and a jumper from senior forward Jaryn Taylor (Yucaipa, Calif./Yucaipa) was the bookend on a 7-0 MSU Denver run to cut the Westminster lead all the way down to three.

The Griffins responded, pushing their lead back to eight at 62-54 with 3:55 remaining, but the Roadrunners' comeback had not yet been stifled. A McIntosh free throw and Carter 3-pointer cut the lead back to four.

Westminster charged back ahead with an and-1 bucket. Taylor hit a three in response. Westminster bucket. Asah for three. Defensive stop. Taylor to the line for two.
All the sudden, MSU Denver was within one at 67-66 with 52 seconds left.

Westminster hit clutch free throws down the stretch to ice the game, but the no-quit attitude MSU Denver displayed will certainly pay dividends if it continues throughout the remainder of the conference schedule.

Asah ended up with 19 points to lead the Roadrunners, adding five rebounds while Carter scored 16 and dished four assists. McIntosh had 13 points and tied a career-best with nine boards, turning away three shot attempts for his third consecutive game with at least three blocks and fifth overall this season.

MSU Denver shot 41.4% from the field (24 of 58) and 54.5% from distance (12 of 22) on Saturday. The Roadrunners outrebounded the Griffins 34-30 in the loss, grabbing 12 offensive boards for 20 second-chance points.

After a tough weekend in Utah, MSU Denver returns home next weekend for a matchup with CSU-Pueblo on Friday at 7:30 p.m. MT. A 7 p.m. tip-off with New Mexico Highlands will follow on Saturday as the Roadrunners look to turn gritty play into a pair of victories.