SALT LAKE CITY - Westminster men's basketball (5-6, 3-2 RMAC) went on a 10-0 run late in the second half to complete a double-digit comeback but were unable to connect on a potential game-tying free throw with less than one second remaining in regulation as CSU Pueblo (5-5, 2-2 RMAC) escaped with a 78-77 win on Thursday night at the Behnken Field House.

Brayden Johnson finished with 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting and a team-leading eight rebounds while Matt Kitzamn added 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting overall.  Westminster finished the game 30-of-61 (49.2 percent) but uncharacteristically missed on seven free throw attempts for the night.

Westminster trailed by as many as 12 early in the second half after shooting just 38.2 percent (13-of-34) from the field in the opening half.  The Griffins bounced back with a 63 percent shooting second half and went on its biggest run of the game, a 10-0 run, to take the lead back, 64-62, on a made basket from Brantzen Blackner.  Westminster pushed its second-half lead to as high as five when Lian Ramiro connected on back-to-back three-pointers to put the Pack back in front twice.

Brayden Johnson would even the game at 74-74 after Ramiro's second late three but Elijah Moleon put the Pack back on top, 76-74, with a made layup with just two minutes to play.  After Matt Kitzman evened the game again, Taylor Miller missed on a potential go-ahead layup attempt and Tristan Hurdle converted on the opposite end to put CSU Pueblo ahead, 78-76, with 35 seconds to play. 

CSU Pueblo missed the front-end of a one-and-one opportunity with just 12 seconds to play and Lewis Johnson drew a shooting foul with only .4 seconds to play in regulation. 

Johnson connected on the first but missed the second free throw attempt and CSU Pueblo recovered the rebound to close out the one-point win.

The Griffins will have next week off before taking on BYU in an exhibition contest on the road in Provo on Wed., Dec. 29, beginning at 7 p.m.  Westminster will then resume its RMAC season on Fri., Dec. 31, at N.M. Highlands, and Sat., Jan. 1, at UC-Colorado Springs.

Follow us on social media (@WCGriffins) or visit westminstergriffins.com for all the latest Westminster Athletics scores, news and updates.