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Colorado Mesa (8-3, 5-2 RMAC) defeated Colorado Christian (6-8, 1-5 RMAC) 61-56 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action on Friday night in Brownson Arena. It was the first game back from the holiday break for both teams as the Mavericks snapped a two game losing streak.

Jeff Hart led all players with 16 points, hitting 6 of 10 from the field and finishing with five rebounds. Colton Burgon scored 13 points, had seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Freshman Ryan Stephan tallied 13 points, one off is his career high of 14, going 5 of 7 from the field and matched Burgon with four blocked shots in the contest.

Paul Walter finished with a game high eight rebounds and Clay Kame handed out a game high five assists.

Colorado Christian held a 27-24 halftime lead and held their largest lead of the game in the first half; a seven point lead (26-19) at the 3:16 mark.  

CMU opened the second half with a 5-0 run and the two teams stayed within four points of each other until a layup by Mike Melillo (10:44) gave CMU its biggest lead of the game, six points (43-37). CCU tied the game at 45-45 and took a one point lead to close out a 9-2 run to take a 46-45 advantage with 6:43 remaining in regulation.

The Mavericks broke a 52-52 tie on two made free throws by Paul Walter which led to an 8-0 run that put CMU ahead for good, closing out the final 2:48 by outscoring the Cougars 9-4 for the victory.

CCU had three players in double digits led by Avery Redmond's 15 points off the bench.

CMU shot 47.8 percent (22-46) from the field and 60 percent (15-25) from the foul line. CMU held a 36-33 rebound margin and forced 10 CCU turnovers. The Mavericks recorded seven steals and a season high eight blocked shots in the contest.

CMU will host Colorado School of Mines on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.