DENVER – As the clock wound down and Garrett Carter dribbled out the final seconds of a Senior Night victory, MSU Denver players gathered together around him and soaked it in.
 
"It was emotional," Carter said. "We're going to miss these times."
 
The Roadrunners' passion and competitive spirit, still in full force, has never been more evident, and it helped spur them to a 64-57 victory Saturday over CSU-Pueblo.
 
"We wanted to leave it all out on the floor," senior forward Kendall McIntosh said. "We wanted to make sure we gave great effort and whatever it got us, that's what we were going to take.
 
"It just felt good to go out the right way. If we had gone out with a loss, I still would've hugged my brothers, but it feels better to go out with a win."
 
Fittingly, the seniors led the way.
 
Carter had another terrific all-around performance, with 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals – he now has 996 career points, including 536 in two seasons with the Roadrunners.
 
McIntosh had 14 points and eight rebounds. Point guard Mitch Lombard added 12 points, four rebounds and even had two blocked shots, tying a career high. And Cain van Heyningen added his usual strong post presence, with two points, five rebounds and one blocked shot in only 13 minutes of action.
 
"These guys fought to the bitter end, and that's what we want to see," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Michael Bahl said. "In front of their parents, and in front of the biggest crowd all year, it was just a great effort and a great way to send these guys out with a win."
 
Also honored prior to the game was injured senior guard Druce Asah, the program's all-time leader in free throw percentage who is also eighth all-time in made 3-pointers despite playing a little over 1 ½ seasons for the Roadrunners.
 
MSU Denver and its senior class has one game remaining, at Chadron State on Friday.
 
"Their resiliency and ability to overcome adversity have been huge, and that's what I'm most proud of," Bahl said of his seniors. "I wish we could have gotten them some more wins, but they're leaving the program in a better spot than it was when they got here. I couldn't be more proud of the men they've become off the floor."
 
MSU Denver (11-16 overall, 7-14 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) had hoped to move back to national prominence more quickly, and potentially this season, but things didn't quite come together in a star-crossed 2019-20 campaign.
 
"It's been an honor," said Lombard, who played one season at MSU Denver after starting his career at Colorado. "I always say I got to play for the two best college basketball programs in the state of Colorado. With the history here, the two national titles, the All-Americans, the Final Fours and Elite Eights, it was an honor to wear this jersey. I wish we could've done better and turned this thing around, but we gave it all we had."
 
Said van Heyningen: "End of a season, end of a beautiful stretch, a beautiful brotherhood."