DENVER – For a while Saturday night, you could feel that championship magic.
 
After MSU Denver honored its NCAA Division II National Championship team from the 2000 season at halftime, the current Roadrunners dialed up the intensity and played their best half of the last two weeks, making a run at Colorado School of Mines before falling 73-61.
 
"We played much harder and we competed the entire time," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Michael Bahl said. "Our issue tonight is that we couldn't put the ball in the hole, but I'll live with that. The past three games, I'm not sure we competed like we should have. But we competed our tails off tonight and we'll take it. That's something to build on."
 
Down 36-21 at halftime after another cold-shooting opening 20 minutes, MSU Denver fell behind by 20 points before using a 12-2 surge to make it a 53-43 game with 9:21 to play on a Maris Colton 3-pointer. But Colorado School of Mines (16-8 overall, 12-5 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) managed to keep MSU Denver (10-13, 6-11) at bay the rest of the way.
 
"I think it's about our aggression," senior guard Mitch Lombard said. "Our best moments tonight were when we were aggressive. When we lack that, it puts us in a hole. If we can be aggressive from start to finish, it will help us."
 
MSU Denver shot just 31.8 percent from the field (7 of 22) in the first half, including 1 of 6 from 3. But in the second half they outscored the Orediggers 40-37 while shooting 46.7 percent (14 of 30), including 5 of 7 (71.4 percent) from long range.
 
"It's frustrating, but we were in the locker room talking positive," senior guard Garrett Carter said. "We know we have five games left and we want to finish strong. We're just trying to stay positive."
 
Both Lombard and Carter shared the team scoring lead 13 points. Carter now has 945 career points, including 485 in two seasons with MSU Denver.
 
"They were both phenomenal," Bahl said. "They led like two seniors playing like their time is coming to an end."
 
Both players said they welcomed the chance to listen to members of the 2000 championship team who were in town for the weekend.
 
"It was great having them back," Carter said. "They motivated us, had some real good words to say."
 
Included among the returning champions were head coach Mike Dunlap, All-Americans DeMarcos Anzures and Lee Barlow, plus John Bynum, the No. 3 scorer on that team who is now an MSU Denver assistant.
 
"We're very respectful of what they were able to do here," Lombard said. "It was a good chance to see Coach Bynum get to see his old teammates again and to see him interact with them. We know how special what they did for the program was."
 
Bahl didn't play for the Roadrunners' championship teams, but he did play for Dunlap at MSU Denver.
 
"I really want to thank Coach Dunlap for what he did (in coming to the reunion)," Bahl said. "He's in the heart of his season (he's the head coach at Loyola Marymount), and it's a big, big thing for him to make time for his players.
 
"Those guys look up to him. I was at lunch with them today, and they all wanted to hear from him. He was the center of attention, just like he should be."
 
What was the message the championship team had for the current Roadrunners?
 
"Compete and battle," Bahl said. "That's what this program teaches you. They didn't talk about the national title, the wins and losses. They talked about what the program did for them and how it molded them into the men they are today."