PUEBLO, Colo. -- Hot shooting Colorado State-Pueblo buried 11 3-pointers to upend No. 23 Midwestern State 72-69 in the finale of the Al Kaly Classic Saturday night at Missari Arena.
 
"We weren't very good defensively tonight," MSU coach Nelson Haggerty said. "We've been able to cover that with good pressure, but our basic principles weren't good tonight. Our one-on-one defense bit us in the tail tonight. You have to give it to Pueblo. They shot the ball well and competed very hard."
 
CSU-P's Bryse Velasquez connected on four treys and led the team with 18 points as seven different Thunderwolves hit shots from beyond the arc.
 
In a tight game that features nine ties and 11 lead changes, Colorado State-Pueblo was able to make the last surge after Kevin Grayer's driving layup gave MSU a brief 67-65 lead with 2:12 to play.
 
CSU-P's Derick Agbaroji connected on a 3-ball on the possession before Nathan Tigner hit a jumper to put the Thunderwolves ahead 70-67 with 1:19 to play.
 
The Mustangs cut the lead to one on a follow dunk by all-tournament selection Keith Spellman with 41 seconds to play.
 
Spellman poured in a game-high 21 points for the second consecutive game hitting on three 3-pointers and shooting 8-of-12 from the field.
 
"He can score in bunches and we'll need that from his this year," Haggerty said. "And he'll get even better."
 
The Mustangs were unable to chase down a rebound on a Velasquez misfire on the next possession resulting in junior guard Monzaigo Williams' fifth foul of the game. Tiger converted a pair of free throws to push the CSU-P advantage to 72-69 with 12 seconds to play.
 
Spellman got one more look from the arc, but it caromed off of the rim as the Mustangs settled for a fall away trey attempt by Derrell Gibbs as the buzzer sounded.
 
"We ran a sideline play for a 3 and (Spellman) made a one-on-one play to get a 3," Haggerty said. "We got two good looks at it, but that's not the telling part of the game."
 
Grayer added 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting while junior forward Derek Kaster had 12 points and seven rebounds off of the bench.
 
Midwestern hits the road to face Ouachita Baptist Saturday in Arkadelphia. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
 
Colorado State-Pueblo improved to 1-3 on the season.