DENVER – MSU Denver got back on track Wednesday night with its first win of the men's basketball season, a 77-74 victory over Northern New Mexico.
 
"Winning is incredibly hard to do, at any level," Bahl said. "I'm super proud of the guys. We had a long layoff, almost 10 days since our last game. We were a little rusty in the first half from a defensive standpoint."
 
Northern New Mexico, playing its 11^th game overall --- and its sixth game against an NCAA Division II opponent – was seeking to knock off a second Division II foe.
 
MSU Denver (1-2) had a seven-point lead at 71-64 with 3:19 to go, but the Eagles crept back into it, tying the game 74-74 with 1:14 left.
 
"I thought we let our guard down," Bahl said. "We lost our sense of urgency, and any time you lose your sense of urgency at this level, teams are going to make you pay. Give those guys credit. They had nothing to lose and they could play free and easy, and there's something to be said for that."
 
But Elijah Straughter hit 1 of 2 free throws, the Roadrunners got a defensive stop, then Druce Asah hit two more free throws before one last MSU Denver stop sealed it.

"It feels good no matter what to get that first win under our belt," point guard Mitch Lombard said. "We were still a little disappointed with the way we played at times, but we know it's still early in the season and we've got a lot of time to fix things."
 
Asah shook off a cold-shooting first half and scored 17 of his 22 points after the break, and the 6-foot-4 guard also grabbed seven rebounds to go with two steals, one of which came in the Roadrunners' last-minute defensive stand.
 
"I just kept trusting in my shot," Asah said. "My coaches trust me. I was just looking to make the next best shot and not get too down after misses. My teammates trusted me and they were finding me."
 
Demetrius Jackson added 13 points, while Lombard supported the cause with 12 points. Kendall McIntosh had 11 points and eight rebounds.
 
After seeing Northern New Mexico (1-10) to shoot 68.2 percent from the field (15 of 22) in the first half, including 70 percent (7 of 10) from 3-point range, the Roadrunners limited the Eagles to 36.4 percent shooting after the break.
 
"We just had to take our defense more seriously," Asah said. "We've got to rely on our defense  to win games and that's what we did in the second half. We knew we had to, and we did, and we got it done."
 
Said Lombard: "We knew they were going to have to start missing shots eventually, but we also knew we had to make it tougher on them."
 
MSU Denver fell behind 12-2 in the opening minutes and trailed 42-39 at halftime. But the Roadrunners used an 11-1 run – with the first nine points from Asah – to move in front 56-50 early in the second half.
 
"Give credit to Northern New Mexico," Bahl said. "They made some shots early and if you don't put the fire out early, teams get confidence. We missed a couple shots early, and we lost a little confidence.
 
"I was really proud of the way the boys fought through it."