DENVER -- Metro State opened the second half on a 14-2 run and cruised to 73-56 win against Chadron State on Friday night at the Auraria Event Center. The Roadrunners extended their winning streak to 14 games and improved to 17-1 overall and 14-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, while CSC fell to 7-11 and 4-10 in the RMAC.
Mitch McCarron had a balanced night for the Roadrunners with 18 points, six assists, five rebounds and five steals, shooting 6 of 13 from the floor and 4 of 4 at the free-throw line. Nicholas Kay scored a game-high 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds. Brandon Jefferson shot 5 of 10 and scored 17 points. Jamal McClerkin added eight points.
The Roadrunners shot 55.3 percent in the game and hit 7 of 12 (.583) from the outside. Defensively, Metro State forced 15 turnovers and held the Eagles to just 37.3 percent shooting.
MSU Denver broke away from an 8-8 tie and shot 60 percent in the first half to lead Chadron State 32-24 at the break.
Metro State opened the second half on a 14-2 run during the first three minutes to lead 46-26. The Eagles recovered to get within six points, using an 18-6 advantage to trail 57-51 with 6:25 left.
McCarron put the game away with a 3-pointer with 3:11 left, putting the Roadrunners up 67-55. His shot came in the middle of MSU Denver outscoring 13-2 in the final 4:30.
Christopher Smith's 15 points off the bench led Chadron State.
No. 7 Cal State San Bernardino 82, Humboldt State 70
SAN BERNARDINO – Jordan Burris provided the guidance for No. 7 Cal State San Bernardino on Friday night, scoring a personal best and team season-high 29 points on a nearly flawless shooting effort in an 82-70 victory against Humboldt State in CCAA play.
Burris was perfect on his first eight shots and finished 8 of 10 from the field, a perfect 5 of 5 from 3-point land and hit on all eight free-throw attempts for the Coyotes, now 16-1 overall and 13-0 in the CCAA.
The victory extended CSUSB's winning streak to 16 consecutive games.
The game was played at a physical pace with a total of 45 foul calls with HSU picking up 28. Three technical fouls were called -- all on CSUSB -- with head coach Jeff Oliver picking up his second with 11:28 remaining in the game.
The Coyotes' big four -- Burris, Andrew Young, Kirby Gardner and Lacy Haddock -- all played pivotal roles in turning back the Lumberjacks, now 8-11 (3-10).
Young had 15 points and seven rebounds, Gardner scored 15 with seven rebounds and Haddock dealt 12 assists and just missed out on a double-double with nine points.
HSU was led by David Howard's 20 points.
