Colorado Mesa men's basketball (1-1) fell to host Dixie State College (2-0) 77-65 on Saturday night in the championship game at the Dixie State Classic in St. George, Utah.

The two teams battled back-and-forth in the first half that saw five ties and the largest lead of seven points, held by the Mavericks at the 15:55 mark (9-2).

CMU's largest lead in the second half was three points following a layup by Mike Melillo at 14:55 remaining in regulation. CMU lead 53-51 (12:45) before the Red Storm went on a 14-0 run to take a 65-53 lead with 7:06 left in the game. Dixie held the double-digit lead the remainder of the contest to improve to 2-0 on the year.

Mike Melillo led CMU with 19 points and nine rebounds. Daniel Estes finished with 10 points and five assists. Colton Burgon, Jeff Hart and Ryan Stephan each recorded nine points and combined for eight rebounds. Paul Walter had five points and five assists.

CMU will return to action on November 23-24 as they host the Clarion Inn Thanksgiving Classic at Brownson Arena. CMU welcomes back Dixie State and will open the tournament against Northern New Mexico College on Friday, November 23 at 7 p.m. Dixie State will play RMAC foe Ft. Lewis College on Friday at 3 p.m.