GUNNISON, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa men's basketball team opened Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play with a 97-90 win over rival Western Colorado on Saturday evening in Paul Wright Gym.
 
The Mavericks, who were receiving votes in this week's recent NABC national poll, improved their record to 6-1 on the year and 1-0 in conference games. The 6-1 start is the best since the 2012-13 season when they started the season 7-1.
 
CMU trailed at 2-0 but took the lead at 4-2 with 16:05 to play on a layin by Damon Dubots and they never surrendered the lead again. Their largest lead came on an alley-oop dunk by Michael Skinner with 8:36 to play making the score 72-53.
 
The Mountaineers kept it close down the stretch, cutting the lead to seven three different times in the final 40 seconds of the contest.
 
Junior Tommy Nuno led the Mavericks with 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field but only 1-for-4 from the free-throw line. Nuno added eight rebounds and two assists in 36 minutes on the night.
 
Skinner finished with 18 point on 6-for-6 shooting from the field while Connor Nichols ended the night with 15 points and nine rebounds.
 
Jess Spivey and Damon Dubots rounded out the Mavericks in double-digits with 13 points apiece.
 
Colorado Mesa will take on UCCS and Colorado School of Mines next Friday and Saturday in Brownson Arena. Mines defeated UCCS 87-82 in Colorado Springs on Saturday evening.