GUNNISON, Colo.  Western Colorado caught fire early on in the game and never cooled off, resulting in them coming away with a 78-64 upset victory over the Roadrunners.
 
JUST THE FACTS
Final Score:  Western Colorado def. Metro State 78-64.
Records: Western Colorado 2-8, Metro State 7-2.
Location: Paul Wright Gymnasium; Gunnison, Colo.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Mountaineers knocked down six-straight threes to start the game, forcing Metro state to call a timeout, as they hoped Western would cool off.
• Unfortunately for the Roadrunners that never happened as, the Mountaineers held a 38-30 lead at halftime.
• Jaelan McCloud was hot from the three-point line, knocking down 4-of-7, on his way to a 14-point first half.
• Metro State tried to comeback, getting within two-points of the lead (56-54) with 7:14 left to go in the second half. However, Western kept knocking down shot-after-shot.
• The Mountaineers lead ballooned from there, thanks to eight-points from Avery Rembao and six points from Matthew Ragsdale. McCloud, Jordan Veening and Grant Wilkinson each pitched in with two-points, to help hold off the Roadrunners.
• Defensively, Western made it hard on Metro State resulting in them shooting 33.3% from the field and 27.2% from three.

COURT NOTES

• The Mountaineers led in both shooting from the field (51%) and three pointers (50%) for the game. But, Metro State had a slightly better free throw percentage 76.5 compared to Western's 71.4%.
• Ragsdale was the leading scorer for Western with 19, followed by McCloud with 18 and Rembao with 16.
• McCloud and Veeing also stepped up on the defensive end, each recording a block and two steals.
• Tyrei Randall and Laolu Oke were the top scorers for the Roadrunners, recording 17 and 15-points in the game.

UP NEXT
Western will be home again on Friday Dec. 17, taking on Colorado School of Mines at 5:30 p.m. Following the conclusion of that game, the Mountaineers will take on Regis University on Saturday Dec. 18, at 4 p.m.