Where good news shines

CSU Pueblo basketball is going places with Zach Ruebesam.

The ThunderWolves are in the midst of a remarkable turnaround in the RMAC. Picked 12th in the league’s preseason poll, CSU Pueblo has advanced to the RMAC’s final four for the first time since the 2014-15 season. It plays Colorado Mesa at 5 p.m. Friday in Spearfish, S.D., with the winner getting Black Hills State or Fort Lewis in the conference championship game.

CSU Pueblo (22-7 overall, 15-5 RMAC) has won nine straight and shows 10 more wins than last season. Its 82-70 win over Colorado School of Mines on Tuesday marked the program’s first RMAC tournament win in 11 years.

It’s been a balanced effort from the ThunderWolves, who’ve seen seven players lead the team in scoring in a game. Thirteen players on the roster are from Colorado.

So is Ruebesam, a Berthoud High grad and former CU Boulder student manager who previously worked as an assistant coach on Tad Boyle’s staff.

(“Colorado Sunshine” celebrates the good news in sports. Suggestions are encouraged through sports editor Paul Klee at [email protected].)