DENVER – Like a snake in the grass, the MSU Denver men's basketball team was waiting to strike.
 
Having just moved into a 42-38 lead on a Tyrei Randall 3-pointer, the Roadrunners came out of a timeout and went into a half-court press Saturday night against Chadron State.
 
Sixteen straight points later, MSU Denver led 58-38 and was well on its way to an 80-64 victory.
 
"Chadron State plays so incredibly hard, and give credit to Coach (Shane) Paben and his players for that, but we felt like we could wear them down," MSU Denver coach Michael Bahl said. "It broke in the second half and we were able to put the pressure on them at the right time with our press. Give credit to our guys – they made plays, made shots and got us going."
 
First Maris Colton got a steal and scored on a fast-break layup, turning it into a three-point play. 45-38.
 
"That press has been good for us this season," Colton said. "We're an athletic team and we can turn it on and that showed in the second half. We were rusty that first half, but we started getting into a rhythm."
 
Then Laolu Oke had a steal, layup and three-point play. 48-38.
 
"We wanted to speed them up," Oke said. "It seemed like they weren't ready for it.
 
"We started off slow, especially myself, the energy wasn't there. The second half we came out and picked it up and went on that run."
 
Keyshaad Dixon got a steal, starting a possession that ended with another basket by Colton. 50-38.
 
Then Oke got another steal, starting a possession on which he assisted on a layup by Kobe Sanders. 52-38.
 
"We just sped them up," Sanders said. "We didn't think they would handle pressure very well. So we sped them up, got out in transition and played our game."
 
Blocked shot by Oke, fast-break layup by Oke. 54-38.
 
Steal by Reggie Gibson, layup by Gibson. 56-38.
 
Oke finished off the decisive burst with a jumper that made it 58-38.
 
MSU Denver won its fifth straight game, improving to 9-6 overall and 9-5 for a true third place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Unofficially, in the RMAC points-system standings, the Roadrunners are also third with a little bit of breathing room ahead of Chadron State (5-6, 5-6) and Black Hills State (9-6, 9-6).
 
Black Hills State comes into the Auraria Event Center for a 6 p.m. game Saturday that wraps up the regular season, and a top-four seed that would mean homecourt advantage for the first round of the RMAC Tournament could be on the line.
 
"You always want to have momentum going into the playoffs," Bahl said. "It's going to be a huge game for them, just like it is for us."
 
Said Colton: "Black Hills is going to be a great game. They're physical. They're big. They're one of a few teams in the conference that match up with us size-wise. It's going to be a dogfight."
 
Now let's get to some of the crazy nights that are starting to seem like just getting it right for the Roadrunners.
 
Oke, already the five-time RMAC Defensive Player of the Week, had 15 points and broke the glass with another 16 rebounds to go with one blocked shot, two steals and a career-best six assists. That's his fifth double-double in his last six games and his eighth of the season.
 
Only 25 times in MSU Denver program history has a player grabbed 16 or more rebounds – and five of those have been by Oke this season.
 
"And he didn't play his best, and we talked about that in the first half," Bahl said. "In order for him to take that next step, he's got to show up every day. It might sound like I'm being hard on him. But that's what he wants, too."
 
Now that Oke is hitting 18-foot jumpers and making deft passes out of the high post – repeat, he had six assists – there is seemingly no limit to where his game is going.
 
"He'll tell you he's the best passer we have," Bahl said, laughing. "He'll tell you he's the best shooter we have, too. But we've worked on it. And we know, with some of the guys we have, guys can't go under screens because of our shooting, so they are chasing us or going over the top of Lou, which creates a natural barrier. We got two or three (back-cut baskets) tonight.
 
"He's very smart. We put the ball in his hands and we've really seen him grow in that regard."
 
Sanders is one of those guys whose shooting has teams going out of their minds.
 
The RMAC's leading 3-point shooter by percentage, Sanders had 24 points while making 9 of 15 overall and another 6 of 9 from long distance. Over the last four games, he's an astounding 67.9 percent from 3 (19 of 28) to improve to 45.3 percent (43 for 95) for the season.
 
Only 26 times in MSU Denver program history has a player made six or more 3s – and Sanders has done it three times in the last four games.
 
"I just keep shooting," Sanders said. "I'm shooting pretty well so far, I've just got to keep getting in the gym and shooting."
 
Said Bahl: "He's not afraid of the big moments. He was in the state tournament in front of 10,000 or 12,000 people … he'll make shots no matter what gym he's in."
 
Now that the Roadrunners have the 6-8 Colton back in the mix – after a frustrating series of early-season injuries he's averaging 13.0 points in the last four games – there's an added dimension to the attack.
 
"It's been a long journey, a lot of ups and downs and a couple of setbacks," Colton said. "But this is the time of year I want to be playing. The games really matter, and I'm finally starting to feel like I'm in a rhythm and back at a level that I know I can play at."
 
Said Bahl: "He's been in the gym at 6 a.m., 6:30 a.m., all the time. He was frustrated with himself in the first half, but you saw a mentally-tough guy come back and score 14 in the second half."
 
MSU Denver shot 67.9 percent (19 of 28) from the field in the second half, and made 11 of 22 from 3 for the game. The Roadunners had 19 assists on 31 field goals.
 
It's getting tough to bring them down.
 
"Sharing the basketball offensively, that's when we're at our best," Bahl said.