GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa men's basketball team will open the season this weekend at the D2 Conference Challenge event in Lakewood, Colo. and hosted by Colorado Christian University.
 
ON THE HORIZON
Colorado Mesa will be looking for their first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship since the 2009-10 season and will be seeking their first RMAC Tournament Championship ever.
 
The Mavericks are tied with Colorado School of Mines for the most RMAC regular season titles, with 10, of the current membership (Northern Colorado has 11 with Montana State also with 10 titles.)
 
Colorado Mesa will also be seeking their first berth into the NCAA National Tournament since the 2010-11 season where they lost to Fort Lewis in the NCAA Central Region Tournament in Mankato, Minn. Their last tournament win came in the 2009-10 season to Winona State, 73-68, also in Mankato.
 
TOMMY RETURNS
Senior Tommy Nuno returns after an outstanding junior season. The Half Moon Bay, Calif. native averaged 11.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season while earning All-RMAC Honorable Mention accolades. He scored a season-high 25 points in the RMAC Tournament loss to Black Hills State and handed out a season-high 12 assists in the win over Fisher College in the Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Classic.
 
Nuno is slated to return to the starting lineup alongside a pair of former teammates from Fresno CC.
 
TINY DANCER
A newcomer that people will get accustomed to real quick is Georgie Dancer who transferred in from Fresno CC. The Modesto, Calif. native will likely start for the Mavs after averaging 11.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game last season for the Rams. Dancer shot over 46 percent from the three-point line during his sophomore campaign.
 
Dancer should be a contributor immediately at either the point or one of the wing positions in Coach DeGeorge's offense.
 
BIG MAN
Junior transfer Clay Verk will be hard to miss on the floor. Verk, a 6-8, 260 pound center from Division I Stetson, will fill the shoes vacated by Damon Dubots down on the block. The Highlands Ranch, Colo. native played in 28 games for the Hatters and averaged 2.2 points and had a season-high 11 points in a win over Marist.
 
COACHING STAFF
Head coach Mike DeGeorge enters his second season at the helm of the Mavericks. DeGeorge led the Mavericks to a 19-10 record in his first season, an eight-win improvement from the previous season, and included a win over nationally-ranked DBU.
 
Kyle Bossier and Dutch Johnson both return to the bench as a part of the coaching staff. Bossier is in his second season while Johnson is in his sixth season as an assistant coach.
 
New to the staff this year is former Maverick Russ Gregory and graduate assistant Sean Lynch.
 
D2 CONFERENCE CHALLENGE
Colorado Mesa and St. Edward's will tip-off the season on Friday in the D2 Conference Challenge event in Lakewood. The Mavericks are 0-5 all-time against the Hilltoppers with the closest game in the series coming in Grand Junction during the 2017-18 season. The two teams went to overtime in that matchup in Brownson Arena while the next closest was a five-point setback in Dallas in the 2016 version of the event.
 
The Hilltoppers were picked to finish second in their first season in the Lone Star Conference and received 14 first-place votes, just behind preseason favorite West Texas A&M. Senior Ashton Spears was selected as the Co-Preseason Player of the Year for the Conference after averaging 19 points and 2.5 steals per game as a junior.
 
Spears led St. Edward's to an 89-83 win over Division I Rice in an exhibition last week. The Independence, La. native scored a game-high 27 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field.
 
The Hilltoppers begin the season ranked No. 20 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Poll.
 
History with St. Edward's
Nov. 11, 2018 in Austin, Texas – St. Edward's 84, Colorado Mesa 72  (Box Score)
Nov. 10, 2017 in Grand Junction – St. Edward's 100, Colorado Mesa 92 (OT)  (Box Score)
Nov. 12, 2016 in Dallas, Texas – St. Edward's 71, Colorado Mesa 66  (Box Score)
Nov. 13, 2015 in Lakewood, Colo. – St. Edward's 92, Colorado Mesa 85  (Box Score)
Nov. 15, 2014 in Austin, Texas – St. Edward's 74, Colorado Mesa 61  (Box Score)
 
The Mavericks will square off with DBU, for one of their first two games of the year, for the sixth straight season. They hold a 3-2 all-time record against the Patriots including a 91-80 win to begin last season in Austin, Texas.
 
The Patriots were picked to finish sixth in the 18 team Lone Star Conference and are led by returning All-Heartland Conference First Team selection Chandler Jacobs. The Missouri City, Texas native led the Patriots to the NCAA South Central Region Tournament and averaged 14.3 points and 2.4 assists per game.
 
History with DBU
Nov. 9, 2018 in Austin, Texas – Colorado Mesa 91, #21 DBU 80  (Box Score)
Nov. 11, 2017 in Grand Junction – DBU 86, Colorado Mesa 62  (Box Score)
Nov. 11, 2016 in Dallas, Texas – DBU 99, Colorado Mesa 78  (Box Score)
Nov. 14, 2015 in Lakewood, Colo. – Colorado Mesa 91, DBU 76  (Box Score)
Nov. 14, 2014 in Austin, Texas – Colorado Mesa 92, DBU 89  (Box Score)
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Mavericks will have a week off before heading down to Gunnison for the Comfort Inn Classic in Western Colorado's Paul Wright Gym. They will take on a pair of NAIA foes in Pacific Union College and Midland University. It will be the first time Colorado Mesa is competing against either school in the program's history.