DENVER – MSU Denver made impressive late-season strides Friday night in a hard-fought 77-71 loss to New Mexico Highlands.
 
"We played hard," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Michael Bahl said. "We challenged them. We told our guys we had two choices, and they made the correct choice. We competed and gave ourselves a chance to win."
 
MSU Denver led for 47.1 percent of the game (Highlands led for only 38.8 percent of the contest, with the game tied for the other 14.1 percent of play) against a team that had beaten the Roadrunners 80-51 on Jan. 18.
 
"We played hard for the full 40 minutes," forward Maris Colton said. "We messed up a couple of mental things, but those are things we can fix."
 
Said guard Garrett Carter: "We competed hard as a team, and we're excited to play tomorrow. We're trying to keep our spirits high and to bring good energy."
 
Carter and four other MSU Denver seniors will be honored during Senior Night before Saturday's 7 p.m. game against CSU-Pueblo.
 
Laolu Oke's putback with 11:27 left gave the Roadrunners a seven-point lead at 51-44, but New Mexico Highlands answered with an 11-2 run to lead 55-53 with 8:21 left.
 
The teams traded baskets and eventually a Colton 3 put MSU Denver in front 62-59 with 5:03 left.
 
But Highlands scored the next five points to move ahead to stay, though back-to-back jumpers by Carter twice brought MSU Denver within a point, the last time at 68-67 with 2:12 to go.
 
"It came down to a couple of things here or there," Bahl said. "Ninety-five percent of the basketball games you watch, it comes down to layups and free throws. Unfortunately we didn't finish as well under the basket as we wanted to, and we missed some costly free throws.
 
"But we gave ourselves a chance to win, so I'm super-proud of the way they competed."
 
Colton scored a season-high 23 points to lead MSU Denver while adding six rebounds, and Carter had 16 points, five rebounds and a season-high six assists. Guard Mitch Lombard had a career-high eight rebounds.
 
Colton had 14 second-half points on 6 of 10 shooting.
 
"We're asking him to play the 3, and he's never played the 3," Bahl said. "But he's showing his versatility. That's a guy saying, 'Coach, whatever you need me to do.' And right now, we need him to play significant minutes at the 3, and he's done a great job of it. His confidence has continued to grow."
 
Carter had 11 second-half points while making 5 of 10 from the field.
 
"Sixteen points, five rebounds, six assists, one turnover – I'll take it," Bahl said. "He competed his tail off. He dove for the ball twice. You talk about being competitive. One of them led to a dunk by Maris. He was out there trying to win."
 
New Mexico Highlands improved to 16-9 overall and 11-9 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. MSU Denver dropped to 10-16 and 6-14.
 
"I think we can do that against anybody," Colton said. "That's been our thing all year. We've got the talent to compete with anybody in the country. Our record doesn't really show that, but I really believe it."