Kearney, Neb. – Metro State played well enough to win on the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference road Saturday night, shooting 50.8 percent from the field and committing only 10 turnovers.
But the Nebraska-Kearney men’s basketball team used 30 points, 17 rebounds and six assists from 6-foot-6 senior Dusty Jura to stop Metro State’s 15-game winning streak and beat the Division II fourth-ranked Roadrunners 90-87 before 4,895 fans.
The RMAC’s power programs split their regular- season series, with the Roadrunners defeating the Lopers 92-75 in Denver on Feb. 2.
Jesse Wagstaff, a 6-8 sophomore forward from Australia, led the Roadrunners on Saturday with 29 points and 17 rebounds. Metro State’s Michael Bahl, a 6-6 senior forward from Broomfield, and Marquise Carrington combined for 33 points.
Metro State (22-3, 15-2 RMAC) and Nebraska-Kearney (21-4, 15-2) share the East Division lead.
LA.-LAFAYETTE 67, DENVER 65: Elijah Millsap had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Louisiana-Lafayette held off Denver to win in the Pioneers’ last home game of the regular season.
Tyler Bullock missed a jumper at the buzzer that would have tied it for Denver (4-23, 3-14 Sun Belt), which rallied from 11 points down in the second half. Bullock caught a full-court pass and fired, but his shot rimmed out after spinning around the basket.
After trailing 55-44, Denver took a 59-58 lead with a layup by Antonio Porch with 2:51 left. The teams traded baskets until Ross Mouton hit a 3-pointer to give the Ragin’ Cajuns (9-18, 7-9) a 65-63 lead.
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Wes Jensen’s 20 points and eight rebounds led four Adams State players in double figures as the Grizzlies knocked off West Division-leading Fort Lewis 85-77 at Plachy Hall in Alamosa. Adams State (12-12, 11-6) trails by one game in second place in the division. Fort Lewis (20-6, 12-5) which got a game-high 24 points from Tim Bieri, is now tied with Mesa State (16-8, 12-5) for the division lead.
Mesa State got 25 points from Stephen Soriano in edging host CSU-Pueblo (12-13, 8-9) 74-72.
Ian Elseth scored 19 points and Kyle Pape had 17 to lead Colorado Mines (14-11, 8-9) over host Colorado-Colorado Springs (14-11, 7-10) 76-74.
Brian Stamer scored a game-high 40 points and Colorado Christian (12-13, 7-10) downed host Chadron (Neb.) State (6-19, 4-13) 87-74.
WOMEN
Ames, Iowa – A 17-2 first-half run and stingy defense worked beautifully for Iowa State as the Cyclones cruised to a 74-55 victory over Colorado.
The Buffs (11-14) shot just 36 percent (20-of-55), including 2-for-12 on 3-pointers. Jackie McFarland had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Kara Richards had 11 points. Iowa State (19-7) was led by Nicky Wieben (18 points) and Alison Lacey (13).
McFarland was held to less than 50 percent shooting (4-of-11) for only the third time this season as she faced double- and triple-teams most of the game. The double-double was her 15th of the season, the fourth-best mark in team history.
BYU 67, COLORADO STATE 50 at Fort Collins: Colorado State had balanced scoring, with four players in double figures, but it wasn’t enough to counter the 1-2 punch of Dani Wright and Jennie Keele as the Mountain West Conference-leading Cougars throttled the Rams in the second half.
CSU (7-18) was down 41-35 at the half, then BYU held the Rams to 15 points on 6-of-22 shooting in the second half. Juanise Cornell and Emily Neal each scored 12 points for CSU. Wright had 22 points for BYU and Keele had 16.
NEW MEXICO 57, AIR FORCE 47 at Air Force Academy: The Lobos outscored the Falcons 7-0 in the last 2:53 of the game for a hard-fought victory after AFA junior Pamela Findlay had cut New Mexico’s lead to three points.
The Falcons started off well, with a 9-0 run that gave Air Force an 11-4 advantage at the 11:34 mark. But New Mexico began to regroup, and regained the lead with 3 1/2 minutes to play in the half after a three-point play by junior Dionne Marsh and led 21-20 at halftime. Findlay led Air Force (5-19) with 14 points. Marsh had 24 points for New Mexico (19-7).
NORTHERN ARIZONA 86, NORTHERN COLORADO 49 at Greeley: Alyssa Wahl missed only one shot in racking up 31 points and leading the Lumberjacks (16-9). Whitley Cox led the Bears (4-20) with 20 points, and Heather Barbour added 19.
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Kelsie Gourdin’s 22 points led Mesa State (17-8, 10-7) to a 77-65 win over CSU-Pueblo, snapping the Thunderwolves’ (15-8, 13-4) five-game win streak.
Kerry Lewis scored a season-high 27 points for CSU-Pueblo, which now leads Western State (14-11, 12-5) by one game in the West Division.
Colorado Mines downed host Colorado-Colorado Springs 63-53 at the Lions’ Den. Iva Tomova led the Orediggers (14-11, 11-6) with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Metro State (20-5, 13-4) stayed two games behind idle Regis for the East Division lead after a 69-65 road win over Nebraska-Kearney (18-7, 12-5). Ashley Mickens had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Roadrunners.
