PUEBLO, Colo. – MSU Denver's magic ran out Saturday.
 
Playing for the second straight night on the road with an eight-man roster and a seven-man rotation that didn't include its two best inside players, the Roadrunners had a second-half lead but ran out of gas late in a 77-62 defeat at CSU Pueblo.
 
"We had a tough second half shooting the ball," MSU Denver coach Dan Ficke said. "We had tired legs. It was bad coaching on my part by not putting guys in position to succeed, too, because we went away from some things that we thought would help us win."
 
After shooting 55.6 percent (15 of 27) from the field in taking a 39-34 halftime lead, MSU Denver made just 29.4 percent of its second-half shots (10 of 34). The Roadrunners connected on just 2 of 13 from 3-point range for the game.
 
"Our guys battled their hearts out for 40 minutes," Ficke said. Every guy tried his hardest to contribute."
 
The Roadrunners played seven players and won Friday at New Mexico Highlands, when they were also without star forwards Caleb McGill and Mario Lacy, Jr.
 
"We felt capable of winning both games this weekend even though we were short-handed, and that shows how highly we think of these eight guys who are with us," Ficke said. "Despite the adversity, we got the split and we were in position to win again tonight until the last 10 minutes.
 
"I'm proud of the effort, and this is something we can build on."
 
Freshman forward Marzouq Ibn Abdur-Razaaq led the way with 12 points, and the Roadrunners again got solid contributions off the bench from senior guard Luke Jones and freshman forward Caden Holmes.
 
"As much as we wanted to win this game, it shows just how good we are," Ficke said. "And when we add Caleb and Mario back, if Luke continues to play like this and Caden continues to play like this behind our starters, then the sky is the limit for our last 14 games of the season."