DENVER – After an uncharacteristic two-year absence, the MSU Denver men's basketball team is back in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Roadrunners earned the tournament's fourth seed and will play host to fifth-seed Adams State in a 6 p.m. game Tuesday at the Auraria Event Center.
"It's a great opportunity for our guys to compete and have a playoff game," MSU Denver coach
Michael Bahl said. "This is what it's all about.
"We're one of the select few teams (in the country) that get to continue to play, and that's a credit to the guys in that locker room. We're excited to play. It's a brand-new season and we can't wait to compete."
MSU Denver is 9-7 overall and went 9-6 in RMAC regular-season play.
The Roadrunners had won five straight games before falling 85-73 in the regular season finale to Black Hills State, which jumped into the No. 3 seed at 10-6.
"I think it's better now than later," forward
Laolu Oke said of the loss. "We had a good run, but now it's win or go home. It's time to get to it. It's playoff time."
MSU Denver dropped an 87-81 home decision to Adams State on Jan. 7. The Roadrunners had a 12-point lead with just over seven minutes to play but couldn't off a late run by the Grizzlies.
Adams State (9-8, 9-8) has won five straight games.
Destan Williams averages 19.1 points and 5.1 assists per game, while Frederick Jackson adds 15.3 points and 7.0 rebounds and Kaelin Crane gets 13.2 points per game.
Kobe Sanders, at 13.1 points per game, has carried the MSU Denver offense lately and is shooting 44.4 percent from 3-point range (44 of 99) for the season.
Oke averages a double-double of 11.1 points and 12.1 rebounds per game while shooting 67.3 percent from the field.
A season that started in uncertainty due to the global pandemic has been a few games shorter than normal but has ultimately gotten to the postseason.
"We came into this year trying to get through it," Bahl said. "And now it's about wins and losses – which is typical, we're all competitors. We've had zero positive COVID cases since the first semester, so give our guys credit for that. That's a victory within itself."
