FORT SMITH, Ark. – The report card from MSU Denver's challenging season-opening assignment with regional power and nationally-ranked Tarleton State (Texas) shows some high marks and just a couple of needs improvements.
 
The Roadrunners played a strong first half and led 36-34 at the break, but Tarleton State -- ranked 24th in the coaches' preseason poll -- scored the first 14 points of a 26-2 run starting at the 12:14 mark of the second half and pulled away for an 85-71 victory in the Coca-Cola Conference Challenge.
 
"I'm very proud of our guys and how they competed tonight," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Michael Bahl said. "In order to beat a Top 25 team, you need to be able to put together a complete game and unfortunately we are not there yet.
 
"The good news is that we have the pieces necessary to get the job done and the future is very bright with this team."
 
That was evident in the first half as the Roadrunners shot 46.7 percent from the field, including 4 of 10 from 3-point range, played the Texans almost even (17-16) in rebounds, committed just three turnovers, and led by as many as seven points (31-24).
 
And it was still 45-45 before Tarleton State made its late second-half push.
 
Tarleton State shot 53.3 percent in the second half to MSU Denver's 34.5 percent and forced the Roadrunners into seven turnovers. The Texas connected on 7 of 12 tries from 3-point range (58.3 percent) in the second half.
 
Druce Asah led MSU Denver with 14 points, while Kendall McIntosh had 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Mitch Lombard had nine points, five rebounds, six assists and only one turnover in his Roadrunners debut, while Demetrius Jackson also scored nine points.
 
In their MSU Denver debuts, Christian Wilson-Poole had eight points and four steals, while Maris Colton had eight points and six rebounds.
 
For Tarleton State, forward Josh Hawley, the preseason co-player of the year in the Lone Star Conference, had 27 points and 12 rebounds.
 
MSU Denver faces host Arkansas-Fort Smith, which defeated Black Hills State 79-76 in Saturday's first game, at 6:30 p.m. MST on Sunday.