Colorado Mesa University was on the road in Spearfish, S.D. to take on Black Hills State University (BHSU) on Saturday night for their second matchup of the season. After going into halftime with a narrow lead, the Mavericks were unable to keep pace with the Yellowjackets in the second half. CMU fell 84-74 in the matchup to split the season series.
 
Connor Nichols and Emilio Acedo led the Maverick charge in the first half, combining for 20 of the mavericks 37 points and nine rebounds. Their precise shooting along with the Yellowjackets being held to 42 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes helped give CMU a 37-35 lead entering the half.
 
In the second half, the Yellowjackets' reserves became the difference in the matchup. They outscored the Mavericks' bench 26-2 in the second half alone, which helped them outscore CMU by 12 in the half (49-37). Nichols put up another 18 points in the half, but it wasn't enough to keep the Mavericks in the game.
 
Bench points were the ultimate decider in this game, with the Yellowjackets winning the battle 47-9 on the night. That combined with their 13 made three-pointers to the Mavericks' five was a recipe for success for BHSU.
 
Nichols finished the game with 27 points to lead all scorers. Acedo was second on the team with 18 points and six rebounds. Dez Stoudamire gave BHSU 22 points off the bench to lead the Yellowjackets.
 
The loss moves the Mavericks to 11-15 on the year and 7-13 in the conference. Their final two games of the 2017-18 season will be next weekend against CSU-Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands, with both on the road.