COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Seniors Darius Thompson and D'Monta Harris scored 14 points each to lead Midwestern State in a 69-61 season opening loss to UC Colorado Springs Friday night at the Gallogly Events Center.
 
The Mustangs close the Colorado road trip Saturday night against Colorado State-Pueblo at Massari Arena. The Thunderwolves are coming off of a 92-69 win over Cameron. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. (Central Time).
 
Midwestern State used strong starts in each half to build up advantages as the scored the first five points of the game on the strength of a season opening 3-pointer by Harris, who followed with a layup. The five-point edge was the largest of the half for the Mustangs.
 
UCCS battled back to take a 6-point lead after a Parker Gaddis dunk gave the Mountain Lions a 23-17 lead with 7 1/2 minutes remaining in the first stanza, but the teams went to halftime even at 35-35.
 
Freshman guard Evan McCarthy fueled 12-3 Midwestern State run at the beginning of the second banging in a triple with 15:22 to go before hitting a pull-up jumper on a break to give the Mustangs their largest lead of the night at 47-40 with 14:49 to go.
 
But UC Colorado Springs held the Mustangs scoreless over the next 10 minutes to play to fuel a 22-0 run to take a 62-47 lead on a Ed Bourke layup with 4:27 to play.
 
Sophomore Trae Jones ended the drought with his second 3-pointer of the game, but MSU would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way.
 
Harris finished the night with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Thompson tallied 14 points with six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
 
Jones gave the Mustangs a third player in double figure with 11 points and six rebounds while connecting 3-of-4 from the arc. Sophomore Jalin Brown flirted with a double-double in his MSU debut finishing with nine points and eight rebounds.
 
Padiet Wang paced UCCS with 19 points and eight boards, while Bourke added 14 points and six rebounds.
 
The Mountain Lions have won their last 13 games at the Gallogly Event Center.