DENVER – Short-handed MSU Denver built a 10-point first-half lead but wasn't able to maintain it Saturday and dropped an 85-70 decision at Regis in men's college basketball.
 
The Roadrunners led 38-31 at halftime, but Regis scored 54 second-half points while shooting 67.9 percent from the field (19 of 28) to earn the victory. David Simental led Regis with 41 points.
 
"It was a tale of two halves for sure," MSU Denver coach Dan Ficke said. "We had great execution of our gameplan and on offense in the first half and great defensive effort in the first half. The biggest issue is that we let Simental get going – he saw his first clean look go in and that's all it took. That's been the story of our year in the league – if we let one of the other team's better players get off early, we're in for a long night."
 
Caleb McGill led MSU Denver with 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots, while Brayden Maldonado and Jaden Kennis each scored 11 while making 2 of 5 from 3-point range. Luke Jones added 10 points. Both Maldonado and Jones had three assists, and Maldonado had two steals.
 
"Caleb got back to himself, and Quinten Rock (eight points) stepped up and made some shots, Brayden continues to do great things and Luke Jones was solid," Ficke said. "Jaden and Yaw (Reneer) got into foul trouble on a night when we we're hoping to get extra minutes from them, but that's a learning experience for them."
 
MSU Denver shot 53.3 percent from the field (16 of 30) in the first half while holding Regis to 37.5 percent (9 of 24), and pushed the lead to 34-24 on a Rock 3-pointer with 4:06 left.
 
But the Roadrunners shot just 35.7 percent in the second half (10 of 28).
 
"We just didn't guard in the second half," Ficke said. "When you give up 54 points in a half, it's hard to win a game. But we had our fewest turnovers of the year (six) and our best assist-to-turnover ratio – that shows that guys are understanding the offense and playing the right way.
 
"Now it's still learning how to compete with the necessary urgency and intensity on the defensive end for 40 minutes. Last night it was about 36 minutes, tonight it was 20 minutes of great effort and focus. It's on us as coaches to develop our guys and teach them how to be better and more prepared in the second half."
 
MSU Denver (6-10 overall, 3-7 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) returns to action Tuesday with a 7 p.m. home game against Nos. 6 and 10 Colorado School of Mines on United in Red Night at the Auraria Event Center.