COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Nearly a year ago, the MSU Denver men's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss at UCCS by a 71-70 score despite Druce Asah's 31 points. Saturday night, the Roadrunners avenged that loss – but the scoring distribution was a little different.

This time, four Roadrunners scored in double digits as MSU Denver (10-9, 6-7 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) beat UCCS by a 66-59 score at Gallogly Events Center in Colorado Springs.
"Our guys believe in each other," MSU Denver coach Michael Bahl said following the victory. "At the end of the day, it's all about the team and not about one guy."

The team grinded to a 26-24 halftime lead over the Mountain Lions (11-7, 7-6 RMAC) behind a strong defensive effort along with nine points from Garrett Carter. The Roadrunners held UCCS to 23.5% (8 of 34) in the opening period, including 22.2% (4 of 18) from 3-point land.

Then, the offense clicked.

Junior Maris Colton knocked in a 3-pointer to start the second half, pushing MSU Denver's lead to five. That was the beginning of a 12-0 run in the opening 3:51 of the final period, giving MSU Denver a 14-point lead at 38-24.

UCCS embarked on a 12-2 run of its own soon after, cutting MSU Denver's lead back to five at 43-38 with 11:42 remaining. The teams traded buckets for the next few minutes as Colton began to heat up, scoring six straight points for the Roadrunners.

With 2:19 remaining and a 58-52 lead for the Roadrunners, Colton stole a pass and converted on a fast-break layup that proved to be the game-sealing bucket. MSU Denver pushed its lead to 10 soon thereafter on a Kendall McIntosh putback dunk, making the score 62-52 with 1:13 left.

The lead was comfortably cushioned at that point, and MSU Denver thwarted a few last-chance efforts at a UCCS comeback to beat the Mountain Lions by a 66-59 score.

Colton recorded 11 of his 13 points in the second half, adding six boards and two steals. Asah finished with 12 points, while Carter and McIntosh each had 11 and Mitch Lombard scored nine. McIntosh also chipped in seven rebounds.

It was a true team win with effort from every Roadrunner – even those who didn't show up on the stat sheet.

"We had 10 guys with long minutes, but the true heroes on the team are Chris Simpson and Tom Garrett," Bahl said. "They are great teammates and they won the game for us with their positivity and energy."

MSU Denver shot 48.2% (27 of 56) from the field (53.6% in the second half) while holding UCCS to 34.5% shooting (20 of 58). The Roadrunners were a clean 50% (5 of 10) from long range.
The Roadrunners return home next weekend, hosting South Dakota Mines at the Auraria Event Center at 7:30 p.m. MST Friday before a 7 p.m. showdown with Black Hills State on Saturday in Denver.