LAWTON – The Cameron men's basketball team fought their way to a 74-66 win over Colorado State-Pueblo in front of a rowdy Aggie Gym to open the 2021-22 season.
 
After what some would say was a disappointing year for the Aggies in 2020-21, Andrew Brown's squad made a big statement on Friday night by out-working their foe from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference to start the new year with an eight-point win. 
 
New faces made big impact for the Black and Gold as they took down the Thunderwolves in their home and season opener. Junior wing Colt Savage led the Aggies with 19 points, going 7-11 from the field and making five of his eight three-point attempts. The San Springs, Okla. native also grabbed four rebounds in the win. 
 
Another new face played some big minutes down the stretch in his first collegiate game. Freshman forward Joshua Fanuiel had 16 points on seven shots with eight rebounds, which led Cameron in the contest. The first-year player provided a key stop and rebound in the final minutes of the game to secure the win. He was +16, which also led the team in the win. 
 
A familiar face to the home crowd, Connor Slater was flying around on both sides of the court, scoring 12 points while grabbing seven boards and blocking four shots. Brock Schreiner and Marques Warrior Jr. combined for 16 points to lead the backcourt. 
 
As a team, Cameron shot 38 percent from the field, going 5-12 from three and 23-29 from the foul line. They were out-rebounded by seven, but one the turnover battle 15-9, scoring 20 points off of those takeaways. 
 
The two teams were evenly matched early, but Savage, Slater, and Fanuiel led a surge late in the first half that allowed Cameron to lead by 21 with 2:18 to play in the frame after a made shot by freshman John Muhammad. CSU-Pueblo made a run in the final two minutes, cutting the score to 43-30 at the break. 
 
In the second half, the Thunderwolves kept chipping away at the lead and with a three-pointer by Lian Ramiro at the 3:41 mark cut the Aggie advantage down to just one. Fanuiel kept CU out ahead by hitting a runner from the left side of the arc and then knocking down two foul shots a few plays later. A big three with 1:03 left by Savage off a Schreiner assist seemed to be the dagger, putting CU up 68-63. Schreiner was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line down the stretch to secure the 74-66 win. 
 
Cameron hosts another formidable RMAC opponent on Saturday night (7:30 p.m.) when the face Colorado-Colorado Springs, who beat Midwestern State by nine points on Friday night in Wichita Falls, Texas.