GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Damon Dubots scored a season-high 28 points to lead the Colorado Mesa men's basketball team to a 80-71 win over the visiting South Dakota Mines Hardrockers on Friday evening in Brownson Arena in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.
 
Dubots finished the night 12-of-17 from the floor and added seven rebounds, four steals and an assist. He had 18 of those points in the first half on 8-of-10 shooting in the period.
 
The Mavericks led nearly the entire night and grew the lead to 15 with 46 seconds left in the first half following a Damon Dubots layin on a fast break. They trailed by one point twice at 16-15 with 12:55 in the first half and 20-19 at 9:33 to play in the half.
 
South Dakota Mines whittled the lead down to two at the 9:26 mark of the second half at 58-56 and the Mavericks never led by more than nine in the second half.
 
Senior Connor Nichols added 22 points and seven rebounds while Brandon Hoffer added 10 points and handed out a game-high five assists.
 
Colorado Mesa continues to be among the nation's elite when it comes to field goal percentage and that trend continued on Friday. They shot 55.8 percent from the field including just 5-of-13 from beyond the arc.
 
The Mavericks improved their record to 9-3 on the season and 4-2 in the conference while the Hardrockers fell to 5-9 on the year and 2-4 in the RMAC.
 
Colorado Mesa will take on the first-place Black Hills State Yellow Jackets on Saturday at 7pm. The Yellow Jackets defeated Western Colorado 77-69 in Gunnison this evening.