GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa men's basketball team will host UCCS and Colorado School of Mines in their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference home opener this weekend in Brownson Arena.
 
NATIONAL POLL
The Mavericks picked up a little steam in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll this week. They are still in the receiving votes section but went from nine votes to 20 this week.
 
A couple other teams of note in the poll include Texas A&M-Commerce who received two votes this week. The Mavericks knocked off the Lions at the Comfort Inn Classic in Gunnison during the second week of the season.
 
BIG WIN IN GUNNISON
Colorado Mesa earned a big 97-90 win over Western Colorado in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener for both schools. The Mavericks shot 53.7 percent from the field and outrebounded Western 41-34 in the games. They limited the Mountaineers to just four made three-pointers after coming into the contest as one of the top three-point shooting teams in the RMAC.
 
Looking farther down the road, the win has other big implications as well. The Mountaineers defeated West Texas A&M in the first game of the season and is the lone loss of the season for the Buffs. This gives the Mavericks a common opponent with the Buffs when it comes to NCAA Tournament selection.
 
SHOT SELECTION
The Colorado Mesa men's basketball team continues to shoot a high percentage from the field. The Mavericks rank second in all of Division II this week with a 56.6 percentage from the field, just .3 behind national leader Bellarmine, who is the top ranked team in the NABC poll.
 
Senior big man Damon Dubots ranks eighth nationally in field goal percentage this week at 68.5 percent. Fellow senior Connor Nichols ranks 23^rd nationally and fourth in the RMAC shooting 63.7 percent from the field.
 
POUR EM IN
Connor Nichols currently leads the RMAC in scoring, averaging 21.9 points per game. Despite the thoughts of some opposing play-by-play people, Nichols is averaging 13.1 points per game in his career and has scored over 1,200 points in his career.
 
This season, the Scottsdale native has been in double-digits in every game including a career-high 32 points in the Mavericks lone loss of the season to St. Edward's.
 
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAIN LIONS
UCCS has had a little bit of a roller coaster start to this season. The Mountain Lions opened up with a win on the road at Tarleton State 87-77 before falling in their next three contests. They defeated crosstown rival Colorado College before dropping an 87-82 decision to Mines to open RMAC play.
 
Padiet Wang leads UCCS averaging 12.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He has been in double figures in four of the six games including a 17 point, seven rebound night against Mines last weekend.
 
Last Five Meetings
January 20, 2018: @ UCCS 90, Colorado Mesa 68
January 21, 2017: @ Colorado Mesa 80, UCCS 75
January 9, 2016: @ UCCS 86, Colorado Mesa 82
December 11, 2015: UCCS 82, @ Colorado Mesa 62
March 3, 2015: @ #20 UCCS 82, Colorado Mesa 71 (RMAC Tournament)
 
SCOUTING THE OREDIGGERS
Colorado School of Mines comes into the weekend with a RMAC opening win over UCCS and a 4-3 overall mark on the season. They split with Lubbock Christian and St. Mary's to open the year before being swept by former RMAC members Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State. They rebounded with wins over Kansas Wesleyan and Haskell Indian Nations over the Thanksgiving weekend.
 
Ben Sonnefeld leads the Orediggers, averaging 14.7 points and pulls down 5.1 rebounds per night. He has been in double figures every night this season including a 17 point night against Fort Hays State.
 
Last Five Meetings
January 12, 2018: #22 Colorado School of Mines 82, Colorado Mesa 72
January 13, 2017: @ Colorado School of Mines 89, Colorado Mesa 67
December 18, 2015: Colorado Mesa 89, Colorado School of Mines 85
January 30, 2015: @ Colorado School of Mines 84, Colorado Mesa 64
January 3, 2015: #9 Colorado School of Mines 61, @ Colorado Mesa 58
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Colorado Mesa will head out on the road for a Saturday-Sunday tilt next weekend in their final games before the Christmas Break. They will take on MSU Denver on Saturday and head north to Chadron State for a Sunday afternoon contest with the Eagles. Chadron State knocked off MSU Denver last weekend in Chadron to open RMAC play.

NOTE: Former Maverick great Eric Hawkins passed away on Tuesday after a battle with cancer. Hawkins is a Hall of Honor recipient and is still among the Maverick all-time leaders in points, rebounds and blocked shots.