GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa men's basketball team heads back out on the road to complete a four-game road swing this weekend. They will head to Denver to take on Regis (11-8, 6-7 RMAC) on Friday night before a trip to Colorado Christian (1-18, 1-12 RMAC) on Saturday evening in Lakewood.
 
ROAD WOES
Adjusting to the travel in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference has been a struggle this year for the Mavericks. They are currently on a five-game road losing streak this season and are just 1-5 in true road games on the season, winning their first conference road game against UCCS in Colorado Springs.
 
STANDINGS WATCH
Nationally ranked Dixie State and Black Hills State continue to sit on top of the conference standings with matching 11-2 RMAC marks. Black Hills State is on an 11-game winning streak while Dixie State is on a five-game streak.
 
Colorado School of Mines sits in third place at 9-4 while New Mexico Highlands and the Mavericks are just behind them in a tie for fourth-place.
 
SCOUTING REGIS
The Rangers experienced great success during their non-conference schedule going 5-1 with wins over Lubbock Christian, St. Mary's and Eastern New Mexico as regional opponents. They have split the weekend the last three weeks with two of those splits coming on the road.
 
Regis and Colorado Mesa had a pair of good matchups last season with each winning on the others home floor. Regis hit a three at the buzzer in a 78-75 in Grand Junction while the Mavericks held on late for a 75-71 win in Denver.
 
Senior Christian Little leads the Rangers in scoring at 15.6 points per game including a 32 point outburst in the Rangers win over Chadron State. He has been in double-digit scoring in his last ten games.
 
Last Five Matchups
February 16, 2019 – Colorado Mesa 75, @ Regis 71
February 1, 2019 – Regis 78, @ Colorado Mesa 75
January 6, 2018 – @ Regis 103, Colorado Mesa 82
January 7, 2017 – Regis 74, @ Colorado Mesa 72
February 20, 2016 – @ Colorado Mesa 86, Regis 65
 
FUN FACT: Regis has two different kinds of athletes listed amongst their notable alumni. Current Pittsburgh Pirate left handed pitcher Steven Brault pitched at Regis where he majored in vocal performance. Also, Nick "Tasteless" Plott is an eSports commentator who competed in the World Cyber Games in 2005.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO CHRISTIAN
The Cougars have had a ton of success this year, having won just one game, but looking at the schedule tells a little bit of a different story. They have been in nearly every conference game but have given away close games and even leads late. Their lone win came against UCCS at home on December 14.
 
Sophomore center Spencer Hoffman leads the team in scoring at 13.7 points per game and in rebounding at 6.0 rebounds per game. Hoffman went for a career-high 30 points in last week's game against Adams State and has had two double doubles on the year.
 
Last Five Matchups
February 15, 2019 – Colorado Mesa 69, @ Colorado Christian 58
February 2, 2019 – @ Colorado Mesa 94, Colorado Christian 63
January 13, 2018 – @ Colorado Mesa 85,  Colorado Christian 70
January 14, 2017 – @ Colorado Christian 76, Colorado Mesa 72
December 19, 2015 – Colorado Mesa 91, @ Colorado Christian 82
 
FUN FACT: Colorado Christian was founded in 1914 as the Denver Bible Institute and in 1981 merged with Western Bible College to form what is now Colorado Christian. Colorado State Representative Jon Becker and Taiwanese politician Chang Sho-wen are listed among their notable alumni.
 
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.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Colorado Mesa will return home for the final four home games of the regular season. The begin the stretch next weekend with a rematch with Westminster on Friday for the Winter White Out sponsored by Coca Cola beginning at 7:30pm. On Saturday, they will look to snap a four-game losing streak against Dixie State at 7:30pm.