Mesa State (4-0) defeated 12th-ranked Metro State (3-1) 61-56 Saturday night in the Clarion Inn Thanksgiving Classic.
MSC's free throws down the stretch sealed the victory after the Roadrunners erased a double digit deficit early in the second half.
MSC held an eight point lead at half after Metro's Reggie Evans near half-court shot as time expired to close out the first half 34-26.
In the second half the Maverick extended the lead to 12 (40-28) before Metro began to close in on the lead.
The Roadrunners eventually tied the game at 46 with 6:20 remaining in regulation. Metro took their first lead in the second half (49-46) on a jumper and free throw by A.J. Flournoy. With Metro looking to increase the lead to at least five points the Mavs' Russell Gregory's steal led to a Mike Dominguez trey to tie the game at 49-49 with 4:15 left in the game.
Down the stretch the Mavericks outscored Metro 12-7 including 7 of 8 from the foul line to earn the five point victory.
Mike Dominguez led the Mavs with 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal and a blocked shot. RMAC Player of the Week, Jase Herl finished with eight points and a game high seven rebounds and six assists.
Metro State was led by Reggie Evans' game high 20 points.
MSC will open up RMAC league play next weekend on the road at Colorado Christian Friday night and at Colorado School of Mines on Saturday night. Both games are scheduled to tip-off at 8 p.m.
