Colorado Mesa University was continuing RMAC play this weekend at home, starting with CSU-Pueblo (CSUP) on Friday night. It was a close contest in the first half between the Mavericks and the Thunderwolves, but then CSUP blew the game open in the second half to take an 88-72 victory.
 
The game was back and forth all throughout the first half, with the score tied a 24 with nine minutes to go before the halftime buzzer. Over the final nine minutes, the Thunderwolves were able to outscore the Mavericks by six to take a 44-38 halftime lead.
 
In the half, CSUP was able to shoot 56 percent from the field, including going 6-15 from behind the three-point line. CMU was kept in the game thanks to 14 points from Damon Dubots (on 6-11 shooting) and 12 points from Emilio Acedo.
 
In the second half, the Mavericks offense was unable to keep up with the hot shooting Thunderwolves. The Thunderwolves were led by Will Newman in the second half, who scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the final 20 minutes. Newman was able to hit four of five shots from behind the arc in the half.
 
CMU was within two points (64-62) with 9:43 left to go, but CSUP would not allow the lead to slip away. Over the final 9:43 the Thunderwolves would outscore the Mavericks 24-10 to take the 16-point victory.
 
As a team, CMU finished the game shooting 44 percent from the field and only 37 percent from behind the three-point line (6-16). Dubots finished as the team's leading scorer with 21 on the night, followed by Acedo, who was held to only two points in the second half, with 16.
 
The team's benches came up huge in the game, with the Thunderwolves coming away with a 21-11 advantage in that category.
 
The loss moves the Mavericks to 6-5 overall on the year, and 2-3 in the conference. They will look to rebound tomorrow night against New Mexico Highlands University. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at Brownson Arena.