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Metro takes two in RMAC twin bill
'Runners improve winning streak to 10 after road wins
By Heather Embrey and Eric Lansing
hembrey@mscd.edu • lansing@mscd.edu

Photo by Jason Small • jsmall4@mscd.edu Shooting guard Marquise Carrington, right, leads the Roadrunner offense down the court while UC-Colorado Springs forward Patrick Hannaway, left, tries to get back on defense. Carrington scored 23 points.

The Metro men’s basketball team found their winning edge by honoring opponents as their own entities and never worrying about future games.

The Roadrunners struck gold as they defeated the Regis Rangers in a solid 90-70 win Jan. 26 at the Regis Fieldhouse.

The high scorers for the No. 11-ranked Roadrunners were guard Marquise Carrington with 16 points, guard Benas Veikalas with 16 points and forward Michael Bahl with 13 points.

“We never worry about the team we are going to play or who they’ve played,” forward Willison Price said. “We try to keep our heads on what we’re doing now. We compete against (opponents) as if they are the No. 1 team in the nation.”

Price entered the game averaging only 5.5 points per game but posted 12 points and six rebounds in the victory.

Metro’s offensive capabilities have been strong in recent games, including their contest against the Rangers. After starting the game with a 10-point lead, the ’Runners drove it to 20 points by the middle of the second half.

Early scoring from the starters, sharp passes and few turnovers made for a nice lead for the Roadrunners to build on in the second half.

Veikalas started the half strong with a 3-pointer right after two made free throws from Regis forward Chris Brever. Veikalas followed up with another 3-point shot less than 30 seconds later. Veikalas’ early six points in the second frame gave Metro a 15-point lead.

The ’Runners extended the lead to as high as 23, and Price brought fans to their feet with a dunk with just 1:56 left in the game to put the finishing touches on their 10th straight win.

The Roadrunners found strength in their free throws, shooting 66 percent on 27 attempts from the stripe. Metro entered the second half shooting only 41.7 percent from the field but found their groove shooting 15-of-30 in the closing half.

The Roadrunners rested for most of the second half thanks to the large lead. The bench, which includes forwards Hayden Smith, Daniel Bass, and David Luedtke, got to play valuable minutes and gave the starters time to regroup for the their next game against UC-Colorado Springs the following night.

The time off did the ’Runners some good as the starters combined to score 62 points in the 87-82 win Jan. 27 at the Lions’ Den in Colorado Springs.

Carrington, who was laughing and smiling on the bench in the blowout against Regis, was all business against the Mountain Lions, scoring a career-high 23 points and handing out four assists. It was the fourth straight game in which Carrington has scored 10 or more points.

Colorado Springs (14-5, 7-4 in the RMAC) gave Metro all they could handle, but the Mountain Lions only got nine points from their bench. The starters played well as forward Patrick Hannaway and center Bly McGuire scored 22 points each in the loss.

With the two wins, the ’Runners increase their winning streak to 10 games and improve their record to 17-2 overall, 10-1 in the RMAC.

Metro’s next game is against Nebraska-Kearney Feb. 2 at the Auraria Events Center. The Lopers have a 15-3 overall record, are 10-1 in the conference and sit in second place in the RMAC East Division behind the Roadrunners.