January 10, 2008

Late charge fizzles in loss to Mines

PUEBLO, Colo. - A five-point barrage, thanks to a jumper by Daniel Pierce followed by steal by Ty McTyer and a putback by Julien Franklin with 10 seconds on the clock, bringing the Pack within 62-61 to Colorado Mines with ten seconds remaining, ended up being the death rattles for the Pack in a tough loss to Mines Thursday, as the Orediggers sealed the game with a few trips to the line, clinching a 66-61 victory.

Mines didn't flinch as the Pack suddenly made a bid to steal the game. Kyle Pape promptly buried two charities with seven seconds remaining before the Orediggers smartly fouled the Pack as they trailed by three, dooming any shot the Pack had of sinking a three that would send the game to overtime.

The fact that the Pack was in the game at the point, and really for the entire duration of the game, was nothing short of remarkable.

The ThunderWolves had, for all intents and purposed, a quite ugly game. They committed 24 fouls and 13 turnovers, which led to the Orediggers' spectacular 26-for-30 performance from the charity stripe. Mines' 26 free throw buckets dwarfed the Pack's total of just 12.

But despite all that, timely shots helped to keep the Pack in the game the entire time, as they never trailed by more than nine points. Most of that was due to a great game by Franklin, who led all scorers with 20 points in a 6-for-11 performance, clinching his fourth 20-point night of the season.

Franklin sank three three-pointers, but he was the only ThunderWolf showing prowess from behind the arc. The rest of the team was just 2-for-14 from downtown, negating the Pack's otherwise good shooting night, especially from short range. Overall, the Pack shot .407 from the field.

The tough loss drops the Pack to 4-10 on the season, with just a 1-6 mark in RMAC play.