GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Colorado School of Mines erased an 11-point deficit with 2:37 to play and went onto claim a 99-94 overtime win over the Colorado Mesa men's basketball team on Saturday evening in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action in Brownson Arena.
 
Colorado Mesa had a chance to win it at the end of regulation but a missed three-pointer by Kolton Peterson and a Tommy Nuno put-back jumper fell short.
 
Early in the matchup of the pair of undefeated RMAC teams, Mines jumped out to a nine-point lead midway through the first half of action. The Mavericks whittled the lead away and went into the halftime break tied at 40-40.
 
The Orediggers size proved to be a bit too much for the Mavericks down the stretch. Mines owned a 45-37 advantage on the glass which included a 24-10 edge in second chance points.
 
Connor Nichols finished with a game-high 26 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double. The senior was a cool 9-of-23 from the field but scored 21 of his 26 in the second half.
 
Tommy Nuno finished with 17, Kolton Peterson with 11 and Brandon Hoffer with 10 to round out the Mavericks in double digits. Hoffer also had a game-high seven assists.
 
Colorado Mesa's record falls to 7-2 on the season and 2-1 in the RMAC while Colorado School of Mines improves to 6-3 on the season and 3-0 in the conference.
 
The Mavericks will head out on the road for the final games of 2018. They will play at MSU Denver on Saturday before a Sunday afternoon tilt with Chadron State. After those games,