PUEBLO, Colo. – Mission accomplished.
 
MSU Denver jumped out to a 15-point halftime lead, then held on with some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch to defeat CSU-Pueblo 65-61 for its first road victory of the men's basketball season.
 
Druce Asah scored 21 first-half points, making 4 of 7 from 3-point range, to help the Roadrunners to a 43-28 lead at the break.
 
CSU-Pueblo mounted a second-half comeback and had several opportunities to tie or take the lead but never could. MSU Denver held the ThunderWolves without a field goal for the final 5:49 while taking the wire-to-wire win.
 
"I loved the grit that our team played with," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Michael Bahl said. "Our bench was engaged and we fought until the end. I couldn't be more proud of our team with all the adversity we have overcome so far this year."
 
Maris Colton made two free throws with 17 seconds left to give MSU Denver a little breathing room at 64-61, then CSU-Pueblo's Tyson Gilbert missed a game-tying field goal attempt.

Asah got the rebound, his sixth, and was fouled with seven seconds left and made the front end of a one-and-one for the game's final points. Asah hit his first free throws of the game, extending his streak to 19 consecutive makes over eight games before missing. The free throw was his only point of the second half, but it was the only won the Roadrunners needed.
 
MSU Denver (9-7 overall, 5-5 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) is 8-1 at home this season but improved to 1-5 in true road games and 1-6 away from the Auraria Event Center. The road win was the program's first since defeating the same CSU-Pueblo team at the Massari Arena on Feb. 23, 2019.
 
The Roadrunners will try to repeat the feat again Saturday at 7 p.m. at New Mexico Highlands. Highlands (11-4, 6-4) beat Chadron State 109-101 in overtime to stay ahead of MSU Denver and four other 5-5 teams who are tied for seventh in the RMAC.
 
Garrett Carter chipped in 13 points while making 5 of 10 from the field and 3 of 4 from 3-point range. The Roadrunners made 9 of 19 (47.4 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
Meanwhile, MSU Denver held the ThunderWolves (7-9, 5-5) to 36.2 percent shooting overall, including 15.8 percent (3 of 19) from long distance.
 
Mitch Lombard dished out a game-high six assists, while Kendall McIntosh had eight points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.