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With a packed and energized building Friday night, the Mavericks looked to put on a good show for the Maverick Faithful. Chadron State was in the house to start the beginning of RMAC play. With the Mavs looking to start the conference championship run on a good note, they held on to a crazy game, winning 76-70.

“The fans played a huge part in this win,” Michael Bear said. “They are definitely the best fans in the RMAC.”

The Eagles had a first half lead throughout, attacking the inside of the Maverick defense. Each team committed over 10 fouls, and the Mavs took advantage of the free throw line, going 12-18 from the charity stripe. The free throws gave the Mavs a 28-26 lead at the half.

Colton Burgon led the Mavs with eight points and five rebounds in the half. Bear added six points and three rebounds as Shawn King chipped in with six points and a couple rebounds.

“That's two games in a row that we played poorly in the first half, mostly just shot selection,” Head Coach Jim Heaps said. “We just needed to get Bear and Colton more touches in the post.”

The Mavs came out on fire in the second half, building their lead to double digits in the first few moments. With the Mavs forcing a lot of fouls and the crowd getting really into the game, the Eagles showed that the pressure got to them as their head coach was called for a technical foul early in the half. As the Mavs kept forcing turnovers, they were able to bring the entire arena to their feet as Kevin Screen hit a three and Mike Melillo threw down a monster dunk.

The win would not come easy, however. The Eagles were able to cut into the Maverick lead by forcing many Maverick turnovers. The Mavs also found themselves in foul trouble, giving Chadron a lot of shots at the foul line. The Mavs were able to hit shots when they mattered, as they held on to the 76-70 victory.

Michael Bear erupted in the second half, scoring 17 points in the first eight minutes of the half. Bear ended with 26 points and six rebounds. Mike Melillo scored 15 and pulled in eight boards as Shawn King and Colton Burgon both put in 10 points.

“Nothing really changed for us in the way we played,” Bear said. “We just came out and played the way we can play.”

The Mavericks move to a 3-2 record on the season, 2-1 at home and 1-0 in conference play. CMU will look to not only sweep the state of Nebraska tomorrow night, but they look to put back-to-back wins together for the first time this season. Nebraska-Kearney comes into Brownson Arena tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m.