ALAMOSA, Colo. -- Bretson McNeal poured in 25 points to lead Midwestern State to a 77-63 win over Western State Colorado Friday afternoon in the Al Kaly Shriners Classic at Massari Arena.
 
The junior from Minneapolis connected on 10-of-19 shots including three triples to go along with six rebounds and three assists to help the Mustangs to the season opening victory.
 
MSU takes on host Colorado State-Pueblo Saturday night at 8 p.m.  (Central Time).
 
McNeal sparked an 11-1 run with a his first 3-pointer of the game then fed a pass off of a steal to an Xavier Blackburn transition layup and Tavarion Nix followed with a dunk. Nix added a pair of free throws to give the Mustangs a 24-14 edge with 5:30 to play in the first half.
 
Western State Colorado clawed back to within six points early in the second half, but McNeal answered by scoring seven consecutive points for the Mustangs on a jumper, a triple and a layup to push the MSU advantage to 61-47 with 8:56 to play.
 
Blackburn and McNeal then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Mustangs a commanding 69-53 edge with 4:56 to play.
 
Blackburn finished the night with a double-double logging 13 points and 12 rebounds, while senior forward Tavarion Nix added 10 points and five rebounds in 13 minutes off of the bench.
 
Mason Biddle paced the Mountaineers with 20 points, while Devin Kastrup added 16.