Derrick White had 37 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and No. 21 Colorado-Colorado Springs beat No. 12 Metro State 82-65 to win its first RMAC Shootout title in school history.
One week earlier, on the same Auraria Event Center court, Metro State held White, a junior, to 13 points and won a share of the RMAC’s regular-season title on Eric Rayer’s last-second jump shot.
But the Roadrunners (26-5) had no answer for White this time. The former Legend High School standout hit 5-of-7 3-pointers, including a 30-footer with 3:15 left that all but sealed the championship and an automatic NCAA Division II Tournament for the Mountain Lions (26-5).
“I was feeling it tonight,” White said. “Last week, I didn’t feel like I played as well as I can and we ended up losing a close one. Today I just tried to be aggressive, and good things happened.”
Overall, White was 11-of-21 from the field and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line.
Mitch McCarron led Metro State with 27 points.
The Roadrunners are all but assured an at-large bid during Sunday’s selection show.
