GUNNISON, Colo. --- The Western Colorado men's basketball team for the second time in four days defeated CSU Pueblo behind another big night from sophomore Matthew Ragsdale, taking down the ThunderWolves 86-81 Friday at Paul Wright Gym with the sophomore scoring 31 points.

It comes after the Mountaineers defeated CSU Pueblo 107-82 on Tuesday in Pueblo with Ragsdale tying a school record with 46 points.

Friday's contest was much more competitive with the Mountaineers (6-8 overall, 6-7 RMAC) trailing 73-71 with less than three minutes remaining. That's when Elijah Davidson drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Western a 74-73 advantage with 2:36 remaining. 

It ignited a 7-0 run by the Mountaineers capped by a pair of Ragsdale free throws with 1:47 remaining to make it 78-73. CSU Pueblo (3-10, 3-10) got to within one at 78-77 with 41 seconds left, but Cole Sienknecht and Grant Wilkinson combined to go 8-for-8 to seal the victory.

Ragsdale finished with 31 points, seven reboudns and two steals to lead the Mountaineers while Avery Rembao had 19 points and Cole Sienknecht had 14 points. Davidson had a solid all-around game with seven points, four rebounds and four assists while Wilkinson had a team-high three steals to go along with three assists and four points.

The Mountaineers shot 49.2 percent from the field, but shot just 5-for-20 from 3-point range - well below their RMAC-leading percentage that is more than 40 percent.

Lian Ramiro led CSU Pueblo with 31 points - going 6-for-6 from 3-point range.

The Mountaineers host Adams State 7 p.m. Saturday and will honor seniors Jackson Ehrlin, Joran Ticeson and Jake Wilcox prior to the game.