GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa men's basketball team improved to 14-6 in the RMAC after defeating Chadron State 88-66 Friday (Feb. 29) night at home.
 
The Mavericks went on a 23-7 run to start the game after neither team was able to score in the first two and a half minutes of play.
 
CMU forced seven Thunderbird turnovers which resulted in 14 points.
 
Eimer Lopez led the Mavericks with 11 points and dished out six assists in the first half.
 
At halftime CMU lead 42-25. They held the Thunderbirds to 33.3-percent (8-24) shooting from the field in the first half while they shot 60.7-percent (17-28) from the field.
 
The Mavericks led by as many as 27 in the second half after Brandon Hoffer made a layup to make the score 77-50 with 5:43 remaining in the game.
 
CMU's hot shooting kept them ahead the whole night. They finished the game shooting 61.5-percent (32-52) from the field and 57.9-percent (11-19) from behind the arc.
 
Ryan Stephan got his 19^th double-double of the season scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
 
Four other Mavericks scored in double digits. Eimer finished the game with 16 points and CJ Davis added 12 points. Kabir West scored 11 points while Connor Nichols came off the bench to add 12 points.
 
Billy Johnson led the Thunderbirds with 23 points.
 
Colorado Mesa will host Regis Saturday (Feb. 19).