Mesa State men's basketball team (7-9, 4-4) opened RMAC west division action Thursday night with a 65-61 win over visiting CSU-Pueblo (7-9, 4-4).

The Mavericks were led by Jase Herl's game high 25 points and team high 9 rebounds. Ryan Mathews finished with 18 points and 3 steals. Herl was 6-of-9 from the floor (3-5 treys) and hit 10-of-12 free throws, 8-of-10 in the second half.

CSU-Pueblo held a 35-32 halftime lead shooting 53.6 percent from the floor. The two teams combined for 10 3-pointers in the first half with the ThunderWolves Marc Williams tallying 14 first half points.

The T-Wolves held a 10 point lead with 10:33 remaining in regulation when MSC went on a 19-5 scoring run to take a four point lead with 23 seconds left in the game. MSC went to the foul line 24 times in the second half, hitting 18.

CSU-P's Williams led the team with 20 points, scoring just six in the second period after a 14-point first half. Roman Van Allen added 15 points for the T-Wolves. Williams and Van Allen had four steals each.

MSC will host New Mexico Highlands Friday night at Brownson Arena at 8 p.m. The Cowboys defeated Western State in Gunnison on Thursday evening 68-49.