GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa men's basketball team will host Fort Lewis and Adams State this weekend in Brownson Arena to start a three-game home stand to close out the regular season. The final three games also happen to all be conference rivals to close out the season.
 
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
The NCAA released its first of four official NCAA Regional Rankings yesterday afternoon. Colorado Mesa checked into the rankings at No. 9 just behind conference foe Dixie State at No. 8. One of the Mavericks opponents in the non-conference, St. Edward's, was named the No. 1 team in the region with a 19-2 overall Division II record.
 
RMAC regular season champion Colorado School of Mines entered the rankings at No. 3 while Dallas Baptist was No.6 in the first poll. Colorado Mesa defeated Dallas Baptist in the first game of the season.
 
The top eight teams in the final South Central regional rankings that will be released on March 10 will move on to the NCAA Tournament which opens the following weekend at the site of the No. 1 seed.
 
RMAC STANDINGS
Colorado Mesa currently sitting in sixth place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings with a ton of opportunity to move up. There is currently a tie for third place in the conference between Dixie State, UCCS and Black Hills State with the Mavericks holding tiebreakers over both UCCS and Black Hills State due to their wins earlier this season over them.
 
Colorado School of Mines has clinched the regular season title with a perfect 19-0 mark with Regis in second place just one game ahead of the three-way tie. Regis travels to both Westminster and Dixie State this weekend.
 
The Mavericks have clinched a spot in the RMAC Tournament.
 
WELCOME BACK CHAMPS
Colorado Mesa will welcome back the 1998-99 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Champions this weekend at Brownson Arena. Members of the team will be introduced at halftime of the game against Adams State on Saturday.
 
The team went 21-9 on the season and 16-3 in the conference to earn the top spot in the conference tournament. The earned a trip to the NCAA North Central Region Tournament where they played the University of South Dakota in Wayne, Nebraska where they fell to the now Division I Coyotes 79-74.
 
SCOUTING THE SKYHAWKS
The Mavericks and Skyhawks will renew their rivalry for the second time this season on Friday. Fort Lewis defeated Colorado Mesa 79-76 back on January 19. Tommy Nuno led all scorers in the game with 17 points and added eight rebounds and seven assists. The Mavericks had a flurry of shots in the final seconds of the game but couldn't get the game-tying bucket.
 
The Skyhawks will be looking to play the role of spoiler on Friday as they are eliminated from RMAC Tournament contention as they are 6-13 in the conference and 11-14 overall.
 
Marquel Beasley leads the Skyhawks with 17.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while teammate Alex Semadeni averages 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. The duo each had 12 points in the first meeting back in January.
 
Last Five Meetings
January 19, 2019 – @ Fort Lewis 79, Colorado Mesa 76
February 10, 2018 – Fort Lewis 94, @ Colorado Mesa 89 OT
December 8, 2017 – @ Fort Lewis 96, Colorado Mesa 80
February 11, 2017 – @ #20 Fort Lewis 90, Colorado Mesa 71
December 9, 2016 – #20 Fort Lewis 89, @ Colorado Mesa 72

SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES
A lot could be on the line for both teams when Saturday's matchup between Adams State and Colorado Mesa rolls around. Adams State currently sits in the eighth and final position for the RMAC Tournament, just a game ahead of ninth place Chadron State.
 
The Mavericks defeated Adams State in their meeting on January 18, 79-74 behind Jess Spivey's career-night. Spivey finished with 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and made his first eight three-point attempts.
 
John Dewey leads the Grizzlies in scoring at 19.8 points per game and had 33 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field in the previous meeting. The 33 points is tied for his season-high.
 
Last Five Meetings
January 18, 2019 – Colorado Mesa 79, @ Adams State 74
February 9, 2018 – Adams State 96, @ Colorado Mesa 83
December 9, 2017 – Colorado Mesa 90, @ Adams State 87 OT
February 10, 2017 – @ Adams State 70, Colorado Mesa 67
December 10, 2016 – @ Colorado Mesa 91, Adams State 82

WHAT'S NEXT
Colorado Mesa will host Western Slope rival Western State next Friday at Brownson Arena for the final home game of the regular season. The Mavericks will honor their seven seniors prior to the beginning of the game, all of whom will be playing their final regular season game in Brownson Arena.
 
SENIOR BANQUET SET
The Colorado Mesa men's basketball team will host their first-ever Senior Banquet on March 30 at 6pm in the University Center. The banquet is open to the public with tickets available for $25 at the link above. The agenda includes the seniors being able to reflect on their basketball careers at Colorado Mesa and an inside look at the culture being created within the men's program.