Jan. 5, 2008

Box Score

DENVER, COLO. - Jesse Wagstaff had 23 points and seven boards to lead Metro State to a 75-63 victory over Western State in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball game, Saturday evening at the Auraria Events Center.

"Jesse used his size well and came out very assertive," said Roadrunner head coach Brannon Hays. "He was able to knock down his free throws down the stretch."

Metro State saw a 19-point first-half advantage dwindle to just three, 56-53, with five minutes remaining as Western State had a barrage of three pointers in the second half. The Mountaineers hit 10 treys in the game, including seven in the second period, to chip away at the Roadrunners sizable lead. However, Metro State answered with a 10-2 run to push its lead back up to 10 with 2:07 to play, 66-55. Wagstaff was 10-for-12 from the charity stripe in the second half, including 4-for-4 in the last five minutes.

"They're a tough team with a lot of firepower," said Hays. "Our guys have worked extremely hard in practice of late and it was nice to see it in the game. We got open shots and knocked them down."

Metro State had four players in double figures as Marquise Carrington added 14 points, four rebounds and four assists and Lawrence Billings posted a career-high 11 points. Justin Avalos and Steven Hudson each had 13 points for Western State, while Hudson also added seven assists.

Over half of Western State's field-goal attempts were from long range, as the Mountaineers went 10-for-28 from three. Metro State outscored WSC at the free-throw line, 26-11, as the Roadrunners had 36 attempts, more than twice that of Western State (17). Metro State also forced 15 Mountaineer turnovers.

The Roadrunners led by as many as 19 in the first half as they shot 60.7 percent (17-for-28) from the floor and settled for a 15-point halftime lead, 41-26. Metro State scored 13 unanswered points to begin the contest as Western State did not score for over four minutes. After the Mountaineers closed to within eight, 16-8, the Roadrunners went on a 25-14 run to lead 41-22 with less than two minutes to go. Wagstaff had 13 first-half points, while Carleton Coggins had eight of his 12 points in the first period.

It was Metro State's fourth straight win, a season high. The game also pitted brothers David Luedtke of Metro State and Luke Luedtke of Western State against each other. David Luedtke had four points in nine minutes, while Luke had a rebound in three minutes.

With the win, Metro State improves to 9-7 overall, 2-3 in the RMAC, while Western State falls to 5-8 overall, 3-2 in the RMAC. The Roadrunners are at Western New Mexico, Jan. 10.