MSU DENVER at WESTERN COLORADO
7:30 p.m., Thu., Dec. 11 | Paul Wright Gym | Gunnison, Colo.
Watch (PPV) | Live Stats | Digital Program | Tickets
REGIS  at WESTERN COLORADO
3 p.m., Sat., Dec. 13 | Paul Wright Gym | Gunnison, Colo.
Watch (PPV) | Live Stats | Digital Program | Tickets

GUNNISON, Colo.  The action at Paul Wright Gym on Thursday and Saturday brings MSU Denver and Regis University to town as Mountaineer men's basketball looks to add two more Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference wins to remain unbeaten in league play.

Western kicked off its RMAC slate with road victories one weekend ago at Colorado Christian and at CSU Pueblo, the first 2-0 conference start by the program since a 4-0 start in the 2012-13 season.

WESTERN COLORADO COMING INTO THE WEEKEND | 2025-26 Stats

• Western, 4-4 overall, will be seeking to extend its RMAC win streak against an MSU Denver program that is 18-3 all time against the Mountaineers, having swept the series last winter and coming into Thursday's game winning four in a row over Western.
•  Since and 0-3 start to the season, the Mountaineers are 4-1 in their past four outings, including winners of three straight. Overall Western enters the weekend with a minus-3 scoring margin, but within the three-game win streak it is a +5 scoring margin.
• Leading the way in the offensive end of the court is Aidan McDowell, whose 27.8 PPG tops all scorers in the RMAC, as do his 25 3-pointers and average of 3.1 treys per game.
• McDowell isn't alone, though, as Tyler Halligan (15.9 PPG) and Jordan Kuac (10.9) are also scoring in double figures.
• Halligan, Kuac and McDowell are also pacing the Mountaineers off the glass, with each coming away with nearly six or more rebounds per game, helping Western post a +3 rebounding margin through eight games. Perhaps more importantly, the Mountaineers have been strong off the defensive rim, averaging 28 per game which is fourth best in the RMAC.
• Mason Mottashed and Halligan, with 33 and 23 assists, respectively, help Western set up things in the offensive end.
• The one Achilles heel so far this season have been turnovers. The Mountaineers have a minus-7 turnover margin yet have been able to overcome that figure, especially in the the three wins when they've kept the total number of turnovers to 17 or fewer.

MSU DENVER COMING INTO THE GAME | 2025-26 Stats

• The Roadrunners enter Thursday night's game with an 0-2 mark in RMAC play and a 1-7 overall record that includes a six-game losing streak.
• Entering the contest with a minus-13 scoring margin, MSU Denver has been relying on four players who combine to average 54 of the team's 78 PPG mark, or 69 percent of the Roadrunners' scoring.
• And they are not shy about trying to light it up from long range. Five players have dropped in double digit 3-pointers this season, paced by leading scorer (14.3 PPG) Quave Propst-Allison's 18 treys.  Garrett Falls (13.4 PPG) has hit 12 from long range as has Amare Bethel (12.6 PPG), while Logan Threatt (14.3 PPG) has drained 11 and Nate Francis (4.5 PPG) has hit 10 from behind the arc. In all, the Roadrunners are hitting 36 percent of their field goals from 3-point range.
• Brian Unachukwu leads the team in rebounding with 5.8 per game, but the Roadrunners are averaging a minus-4 rebounding margin through eight games, and a minus-6 turnover margin is also factoring into their record to date.

REGIS HEADING INTO THE GAME | 2025-26 Stats

• The 1-5 Rangers are also 0-2 in league play, including a no-contest loss in their last outing that shows only in their RMAC win-loss totals. Regis does not play a mid-week game heading into the contest at Western, and the no-contest from their last scheduled game means it comes into Saturday's game having not played competitively in nine days.
• Not going very deep into its bench – only nine players have accumulated minutes – Regis has six players averaging at least nine points, led by Cooper Frith's 17.3 PPG. Luke Soden (14.8 PPG) and Aaron Ofstun (10.0) are the only players averaging double figures for a team that is being outscored on average by 19 points.
• In opposition to MSU Denver's desire to shoot from long range, Regis doesn't disdain the 3-pointer but has only two players, Soden (11) and Matt Yost (11),  with more than eight treys on the season, as the team's total of 47 is far off opponents' 70 made 3-pointers.
• Yost, with 6.0 RPG, and Soden at 5.8 RPG, are the key players off the glass for the Rangers, but they have been finishing game averaging a minus-11 deficit in total rebounds, while also posting a minus-5 turnover margin so far this season.

UP NEXT
Western will host New Mexico Highlands for a non-conference game on Tue., Dec. 16 before the holiday break, then return to action on Jan. 2 with a non-conference game at UC Colorado Springs.