Countries represented at the International Food and Cultural Extravaganza. Photo by Today photographer, Tyler Shomaker.

On Friday, April 12, the Occhiato University Center was filled with local residents and international students to celebrate cultural diversity, for the International Food and Cultural Extravaganza.

The event offered food from all over the world, presented clothing worn in foreign countries and played music that someone would have to travel to another country to hear.

The event featured foods from all over the world, as two tables were made up of a potluck of food from over 20 different countries. It was an opportunity for local residents and students to try something new.

The mission of this event was for all of these people to gather and embrace each other’s culture. One look around the place and people representing countries from the other side of the planet could be seen.

The officers of the CSU-Pueblo International Students Association put the extravaganza together. These individuals were honored with certificates for their hard work and continued efforts to close racial gaps in the community.

“For the past 75 years, CISA has been organizing the extravaganza to bring international students closer to the local students and community members of Pueblo,” said Talha Qureshi, the president of CISA. “We hope to promote international tolerance and celebrate all cultures.”

During the middle of the event, the host took a moment to remember Madeline Casaus for her contributions as the administrative assistant for the Center for International Programs. People silenced and watched as the CISA members started a slideshow of pictures to commemorate Casaus.

Music played all throughout the event, but for those who hadn’t had enough, a performance exhibited the talent of students who were willing to perform. There were singers from Korea, a pianist from Thailand and dancers performing dances from Mexico.

The “Supporter of the Year” award was given to Juleen Edwards for her continuous effort to help support the international students of CSU-Pueblo.

Fashion show at the International Food and Cultural Extravaganza. Photo by Today photographer, Tyler Shomaker.

Fashion was another theme that took place during the event as the fashion show begun. Models strutted down the runway and showed off the apparel of many different countries. Most of the clothing was from the Middle East and this clothing offered a look that most people might not see being worn around Colorado.

I was very nervous about the fashion show, especially it being an international fashion show,“ Talha Qureshi said. “But I am glad it went well and thankful to all the models and make-up artists for their support.”

The International Food and Cultural Extravaganza is the longest running annual event at CSU-Pueblo, now that it has reached 75 years. The event can be expected to take place during the spring semester of 2014 and anyone can volunteer to help with the event.

For more information about the CISA or the “International Food and Cultural Extravaganza,” email Annie Williams, at annie.williams@colostate-pueblo.edu.

Jed Knafelc flying in for a basket, to add to his career-high of 27 points. Photo courtesy of Tyler Shomaker

The Colorado Mesa Mavericks defeated the Thundewolves, 74-65, in the RMAC Quarterfinals, on March 5, officially ending the Thunderwolves’ season.

The Thunderwolves were out rebounded 40-28 for the game, yet managed to get twice the amount of steals, at 14-7, but could not capitalize on the second chance opportunities.

Jed Knafelc came off the bench to lead the team in scoring, with 27 points on 8-of-14 shooting.

“I saw the way the game was going and I didn’t want it to go down like that,” Knafelc said. “Players who usually hit their shots were missing them and I felt like I should take some initiative.”

The beginning of the game looked ugly for the men’s basketball team, as Colorado Mesa had a 22-11 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half. But the Thunderwolves went on a 15-4 run, to get within two points at the half.

The Thunderwolves managed to get a 29-28 lead three minutes into the second half, but that was short lived. From that point, Colorado Mesa then went on a 20-2 run, which gave them a 48-31 lead, with a little more than 10 minutes to play in the game, putting the game out of reach for the Thunderwolves.

“The team had heart and played hard, but they couldn’t make their shots,” coach Ralph Turner said. “This last part of the season was a good try by my men, but it was a sad finish to what I thought was a great season.”

Ryan Arel jumps to the basket for points to add tothe Thunderwolves’ score. Photo courtesy of Tyler Shomaker.

“It was a great season, considering that we came back to where we are now after a 2-9 start,” Turner said. “I’m really proud of them and how they were able to stick together to finish the season so well.”

Colton Burgon and Jeff Hart, for the Colorado Mesa Mavericks, both did the most damage against the Thunderwolves on Tuesday night. Burgon scored 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting and Hart scored 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

In addition, Colorado Mesa shot the ball very well, making 54 percent of its shots, while the Thunderwolves shot for 30 percent.

For next year, Turner the Thunderwolves will be returning only one of their top three scorers from a team that went 14-8 in RMAC play.

Arden Dennis cashes in a 3-pointer for the Thunderwolves against BHSU on Feb. 22. Photo courtesy of Tyler Shomaker.

The Colorado State University-Pueblo men’s basketball team will be hosting Colorado Mesa in its first playoff game since 1995, on Tuesday, March 5, at 7 p.m., in the Massari Arena.

The Thunderwolves, who are currently riding a five game winning streak, will be facing a Colorado Mesa squad that defeated them 78-61 on Jan. 11, in the Massari Arena.

Since then, the Thunderwolves have won 11 of their last 14 games to set them up as the No. 4 seed in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament.

Some of the scoring leaders on the team to look out for are Arden Dennis, Ryan Arel and Matt Rosenbaum, who have all averaged more than 10 points per game this season.

The winner of this game will play the winner of the Metro State vs. Colorado Christian match up, on March 8.

The first 300 students will get in free with a student ID.

Wendell Lee floats in the air as he lays in a basket for the Thunderwolves. Photo courtesy of Tyler Shomaker

The Colorado State University-Pueblo men‘s basketball team (13-13, 12-8 RMAC) defeated the Chadron State College Eagles (3-22, 3-18 RMAC), 73-60, on Feb. 23, at the Massari Arena.

Wendell Lee came into this game with high expectations and met those expectations, with 20 points and four rebounds in the first half.

“Not to be rude, but every team I have played on has expected me to step up and I feel like I did that tonight,” Lee said. “I have to take on this role as an impact player and tonight I wanted to get some shots up for my coach.”

Lee finished with 25 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Another player that stepped up tonight was Matt Rosenbaum, who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.

With few games left in the season, a win tonight for the Thunderwolves pulls them even closer to solidifying the No. 5 position in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings.

Matt Rosenbaum fights for a basket in Saturday’s game against CSC. Photo courtesy of Tyler Shomaker

“I thought we didn’t handle the ball like I wanted us to, but our guys definitely showed that they are getting better,” coach Ralph Turner said. “I was proud of Lee tonight, he shot the ball really well and I am happy for him to have a big game like this.”

“The coach really helped me to prepare for this game. He’s been telling me to relax and then shoot, and it really showed in my performance tonight,” Lee said

During the post game interviews, coach Turner walked over and hugged Lee. The two thanked each other and seemed pleased to get a win tonight.

If the playoffs were to start next week, the CSU-Pueblo men’s basketball team would have to travel to Colorado Mesa, a team that the Thunderwolves lost to by 17 points during the first meeting on Jan. 11.

CSC’s only lead in the game came early in the first half when leading by three. After this, the CSU-Pueblo men’s basketball players started scoring and never looked back.

Though there wasn’t too much pressure to win this game, as the CSC men’s basketball team was ranked last in the RMAC. However, CSU-Pueblo needed to win the game in order to prevent dropping to a lower seed for the RMAC playoffs.

The CSU-Pueblo men’s basketball team will be traveling to Metro State and Regis next week for big games leading up to the playoffs, the following week.

For further information about next week’s games, visit the CSU-Pueblo Athletics website at www.gothunderwolves.com

Senior Erica Hicks steps back and cashes in a 3-point shot to extend the Thunderwolves’ lead. Photo courtesy of Tyler Shomaker

It was a good night for the Colorado State University-Pueblo women‘s basketball team (17-7, 14-6 RMAC) as they beat the Chadron State College Eagles (5-20, 5-16 RMAC), 62-41, on Feb. 23, at the Massari Arena.

The game started off with a bang. The team came out fired up after losing to BHSU the night before. The Thunderwolves were out rebounded throughout the game, but CSC was not able to take advantage of the second chances,

The top player of Saturday’s game was Erica Hicks, who scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds.

“This win at home was exciting for me, because we don’t know if we’ll get a home game in the playoffs,” Hicks said. “And tonight we were lucky enough to capitalize off of what they gave us.”

“Tonight was an important game and next week is very important, so we are going to practice hard for next week against Metro and Regis,” Hicks said.

The loss from Friday night dropped the team from to the No. 5 team in the RMAC. If the season ended today, the Thunderwolves would not host a RMAC Tournament game at the Massari Arena.

“After last night’s loss, we really needed to win this one,” coach Kip Drown said. “We need this momentum going into next week’s games. We play Metro next week and they beat us here at home the last time we played them, so it’s going to be tough.”

The Thunderwolves had the biggest lead of the game, at 25 points, which came with 12 minutes remaining in the second half. This game was a showing that the Thunderwolves could still come out and play well, although CSU-Pueblo has lost three of its last four games, coming into the day.

Senior Caiti Forrester drives in for a basket on Saturday’s game against CSC. Photo courtesy of Tyler Shomaker

The CSC Eagles seemed like a one woman team, as more than half of their points came from Kattie Ranta, who got in foul trouble within minutes of the second half.

Before the game started, there was a quick ceremony to honor the seniors on the team since this could be their last game at the Massari Arena, if the Thunderwolves are not able to secure a spot in the RMAC top four.

The team ranked just above CSU-Pueblo is Fort Lewis and if CSU-Pueblo could win out next weekend and Fort Lewis lose out, another home game could be in the Thunderwolves future.

Next weekend will be must win games for CSU-Pueblo, against Metro State on March 1, and Regis on March 2. Both games will be away games for CSU-Pueblo.

For more information about the games, visit the CSU-Pueblo athletics website at www.gothunderwolves.com

Arden Dennis cashes in a 3-pointer for the Thunderwolves against BHSU. Photo courtesy of Tyler Shomaker.

The men’s Colorado State University-Pueblo Thunderwolves (12-13, 11-8 RMAC) defeated the Black Hills State University Yellow Jackets (5-19, 4-16 RMAC), 84-46, on Feb. 22, at the Massari Arena.

The game ended the same way the game started, in a dominating fashion. From the second the game started, the Thunderwolves kept increasing the lead. Within the first 13 minutes, the Thunderwolves racked up a 12-point lead.

The leading scorer of the game was Arden Dennis, who scored 20 points and picked up two rebounds. Dennis finished the game 8-for-13 shooting and only gave up two baskets in defense.

“I felt really good about my performance and I capitalized on what the other team gave me,” Dennis said. “Open shots.”

“I could not have done that without my team, we have been playing some really good ball in this final stretch of the season and I feel real confident about my team going into the playoffs,” Dennis said.

The first half was a momentum builder for the Thunderwolves. CSU-Pueblo started to add up points and played tough defense against the Yellow Jackets. The Thunderwolves went into halftime with a 14-point lead following a 3-pointer from Bryse Velasquez. Velasquez finished with 12 points and six assists on the night

CSU-Pueblo stretched its lead to 32 points in the middle of the second half, following a 17-0 run. The biggest lead for the Thunderwolves was 39 points, which came with five minutes left in the game.

Bryse Velasquez jumps through the air to lay the ball in to extend the Thunderwolves’ lead. Photo courtesy of Tyler Shomaker.

Late in the second half, BHSU’s Ryan Allen tripped CSU-Pueblo’s Anders Christianson and a scuffle broke out between the two players. Allen walked back to the Yellow Jacket’s bench with a fat lip and blood on his chin. The refs talked over the situation and both players were ejected from the game.

Also, with 1,542 people in attendance, the entertainment for the halftime show had the audience dancing, as the Associated Students’ Government recorded a “Harlem Shake” video, which is a recent viral theme for videos on Youtube.

With the win today, the Thunderwolves clinched a spot in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament.

Next up, the Thunderwolves face the Chadron State College Eagles. The last time these two teams met, CSU-Pueblo beat Chardon State College by 30 points, in Chadron, Neb.

Saturday’s game against Chadron State College will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Massari Arena.

Laurel Kearsley drives to the basket in Friday’s loss to the Yellow Jackets. Photo courtesy of Tyler Shomaker

The women’s Colorado State University- Pueblo Thunderwolves (16-7, 13-6 RMAC) were defeated by the Black Hills State University Yellow Jackets (9-14, 8-11 RMAC), 50-46, at the Massari Arena, on Feb. 22.

The Thunderwolves started slow in the first half, only putting 19 points on the scoreboard. At the end of the first half, the Thunderwolves were behind by eight points.

BHSU had three players score in the double digits, while the Thunderwolves did not have any player score more than eight points.

Laurel Kearsley did not make a shot in the second half for the Thunderwolves, but was able to grab 14 rebounds. BHSU was able to extend its lead to 12 points, with 13 minutes remaining in the game.

Kearsley led the Thunderwolves in the first half, going 3-for-4, scoring eight points. Caiti Forrester helped out by adding five points, on 2-for-4 shooting. Kearsley and Forrester combined for 13 of the 19 first half points.

Paige Ramm as she fights for a basket. Photo courtesy of Tyler Shomaker

With BHSU coming into the game with a losing record, the game was supposed to be an easy and much-needed win. After the first half failure, the team came out in the second half and got dominated until the last two minutes.

The Thunderwolves had a chance to tie the game, down 49-46 with seconds remaining, following a turnover by Dakota Barrie of BHSU, but Erica Hicks was not able to make a 3-point jump shot.

With the loss, there is a possibility that the Thunderwolves may not get to host a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference playoff game at the Massari Arena. The women’s basketball team is ranked No. 4 in the standings, but if Fort Lewis College can get a win this weekend, the team will pull ahead of CSU-Pueblo.

CSU-Pueblo will be playing again on Saturday, Feb. 23, against the Chadron State College Eagles, at the Massari Arena. The game will start at 5:30 p.m.