GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa men's basketball team will head back out on the road for two weeks beginning this weekend. The Mavericks will head west to take on the two Utah schools starting on Friday night against Westminster. On Saturday, they will head south to take on the Dixie State Trailblazers looking for redemption after the loss two weeks ago in Brownson Arena.
 
STANDINGS UPDATE
Colorado Mesa sits in a tie for fifth place in the conference standings. They sit just a game out of third place while they are just two games from not making the RMAC Tournament. Colorado School of Mines continues to lead the conference standings with Regis in second.
 
1,500
Senior Connor Nichols eclipsed the 1,500-point plateau in his career over the weekend. The Scottsdale, Ariz. native becomes just the seventh player in Colorado Mesa men's basketball history to reach that milestone.
 
Nichols currently sits with 1,504 points in his career and is currently sixth on the all-time scoring list just ahead of current Regis softball coach Daven Bond and just five points behind Eric Hawkins for fifth on the list.
 
SCOUTING THE GRIFFINS
Colorado Mesa and Westminster played just two weeks ago in Brownson Arena with the Mavericks coming out on top 79-59 behind a 30-point effort from Kenzo Nudo. They limited the Griffins to just 59 points on the night on 38.9 percent shooting from the field.
 
Westminster is in a tie for 11^th place in the conference and are nearing desperate times as they are in danger of missing out on the RMAC Tournament in their first year of eligibility.
 
Brandon Warr leads five Griffins in double-digit scoring with 14.3 points per game. He had just 11 in the meeting two weeks ago but had 29 points against Chadron State earlier this season.
 
Last Five Meetings
January 26, 2019 – @ Colorado Mesa 79, Westminster 59
February 3, 2018 – @ Westminster 83, Colorado Mesa 70
November 30, 2017 – Westminster 74, @ Colorado Mesa 62
February 4, 2017 – Westminster 89, @ Colorado Mesa 82
December 3, 2016 – @ Westminster 89, Colorado Mesa 68
 
SCOUTING THE TRAILBLAZERS
Two weeks ago, the Mavericks may have run into the hottest team in the RMAC in the Dixie State Trailblazers. Dixie shot 61.9 percent from the three-point line and bested their season mark threes made by five, burying 13 against Colorado Mesa.
 
The Trailblazers are tied with Colorado Mesa for fifth in the conference and are right in the thick of the RMAC Tournament hunt in their first season in the conference.
 
Matt Conway continues to lead the Trailblazers in scoring at 17.6 points per game. Conway had 13 points against the Mavericks two weeks ago but had a career-high 33 points the next night against Western Colorado.
 
Last Five Meetings
January 25, 2019 – Dixie State 86, @ Colorado Mesa 61
November 8, 2013 – @ Dixie State 85, Colorado Mesa 81
November 24, 2012 – @ Colorado Mesa 80, Dixie State 61
November 10, 2012 – @ Dixie State 77, Colorado Mesa 65
November 26, 2011 – Dixie State 67, @ Colorado Mesa 63

WHAT'S NEXT
The Mavericks will close out the road portion of their regular season with a trip to Denver to take on both the Regis Rangers and Colorado Christian Cougars. The Mavericks split with those teams this past weekend in Brownson Arena, dropping a heartbreaker to the Rangers on a last second three-pointer. They bounced back by beating the Cougars on Saturday.