PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State-Pueblo jumped out to a 33-11 advantage in the opening 10 minutes of the contest en route to an 84-65 win over Rogers State men's basketball to start the 2017-18 season on Friday at Masssari Arena in the first day of the conference challenge.
 
The Thunderwolves scored the first eight points of the game in less than three minutes and held an 18-4 lead after six and a half minutes in the contest. The margin grew to 36-11 on a 3-pointer from Josh Smith with 7:36 remaining before half. CSU-Pueblo went into halftime with a 47-25 advantage on the Hillcats.
 
In the second half, the closest the Cats could get was the final margin of 84-65. In the final four and a half minutes, RSU ended the game on a 20-2 run to cut the deficit to 19 points.
 
Senior guard Baron Smith Jr. and junior forward Gabriel Ferreira tied for the team lead in points with 11. Saint Hilaire pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Four of the five starters for CSU-P scored in double figures with Will Newman posting a game-high 20 points. Smith hit five 3-pointers to tally 19 points.
 
The Thunderwolves were hot from the field at 54.5 percent (30-55), including 53.6 percent (15-28) from 3-point range. RSU shot 35 percent (21-60) and 33.3 percent (7-21) from 3.
 
The Hillcats are back in action tomorrow (Nov. 11) at 6 p.m. against Midwestern State in Pueblo, Colo. Live stats and video will be provided.