DENVER – Cold-shooting struck MSU Denver on Friday night.
 
For the second straight Friday, the Roadrunners started slow from the field, and though they made a strong rally midway through the first half, they ultimately dropped a 70-47 decision to UCCS in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball game.
 
The Roadrunners will look to bounce back Saturday against Colorado School of Mines in a 7 p.m. game that will be televised by Channel 20. MSU Denver's 1999-2000 national championship team will be honored at halftime.

"Our guys competed," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Michael Bahl said. "Any time you hold a team to 70 points, the effort is really where it needed to be. Unfortunately, offensively, I'm not doing a good enough job for our guys. I'm not putting us in positions to be successful offensively. We have to put guys in positions where they can use their skill sets and not be as hesitant."

MSU Denver (10-12 overall, 6-10 RMAC) fell behind 22-7 coming out of the gate against UCCS (14-7, 10-6), a team the Roadrunners had beaten 66-59 on Jan. 25 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
 
The Roadrunners held UCCS scoreless for more than six minutes while climbing back into the game with 10 straight points to make it 22-17. But the tough shooting returned, and the Mountain Lions outscored MSU Denver 11-2 for a 33-19 halftime lead.
 
UCCS kept the Roadrunners at bay for the second half, maintaining at least its halftime margin.
 
Maris Colton led MSU Denver with 12 points and three steals, while Laolu Oke had team highs of five rebounds and two blocked shots.
 
The Roadrunners forced UCCS into 22 turnovers, but the Mountain Lions managed to shoot 45.5 percent from the field, including 44.0 percent (11 of 25) from 3-point range.
 
MSU Denver shot 32.0 percent (16 of 50) from the field, including 25.0 percent (4 of 16) from 3.

The shooting struggles are reflected in UCCS' 45-25 rebounding advantage, which was compounded by the Mountain Lions' 11-5 edge in offensive rebounds.