No. 11 Metro State Advances to RMAC Shootout Championship Game

No. 11 Metro State Advances to RMAC Shootout Championship Game

PUEBLO, Colo. - Eleventh ranked Metro State advanced to the 2009 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Shootout championship game after they defeated CSU-Pueblo, 76-65, Friday evening.  Metro State improves to 26-3 on the season while CSU-Pueblo closes their season at 15-14.

The Roadrunners held a slight four point lead at halftime (32-28) and out-scored the ThunderWolves in the second half by seven points.  They led by as much as 14 points with 9:04 left in regulation in a game that featured seven lead changes.  Metro State, who is the top seed in the tournament and the RMAC regular season champions, dominated in the paint, scoring 36 points to CSUP's 22.

Rome Smith of CSU-Pueblo, who tallied a double-double by halftime, led all players with 24 points and 12 rebounds.  Roman Van Allen was the only other ThunderWolf to tally double digits in scoring (11 points).

Metro State capitalized on CSU-Pueblo's 24 turnovers by scoring 20 points.  Jesse Wagstaff led the team with 22 points, 11 of which came from the charity stripe.  Marquise Carrington followed with 16 points after he made 5-8 field goals (3-6 three-point field goals).

The Roadrunners, ranked third in the NCAA Central Region, will play the winner between Fort Lewis College and Colorado Christian tomorrow night at 8 p.m. at the Colorado State Fair Events Center.