GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa men's basketball team will look to snap a few streaks this weekend in Brownson Arena. First, they will look to snap a two-game losing streak and a five-game losing streak to New Mexico Highlands (10-2, 5-2 RMAC) on Friday night. Then, on Saturday they will look to extend their winning streak against CSU-Pueblo (6-7, 4-3 RMAC) to two games, something they haven't done since 2013.
 
CAREER NIGHT
Senior Tommy Nuno enjoyed is most successful night as a Maverick in the loss to Black Hills State. Nuno had a career-high 36 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field including 2-of-3 of beyond the three-point arc. The Half Moon Bay, Calif. native completed the double-double with 12 rebounds, his first of the year and third of his career.
 
Nuno's previous career-high came in the RMAC Tournament matchup with the Yellow Jackets in Spearfish where he had 25 points.
 
NEWCOMER
The Mavericks will welcome in an addition to their roster this week as 6-10 center Ethan Richardson was added to the team. Richardson is another Fresno CC transfer that played extensively on their final four team.
 
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Mavericks are riding a seven-game home winning streak dating back to last season. The streak started back on February 23, 2019 with a 96-82 win over Adams State and continued into this season where they are 5-0.
 
During the 5-0 home start, the Mavericks have been averaging 80.8 points per game and shooting nearly 50 percent from the field.
 
STANDINGS WATCH
Dixie State continues to lead the conference atop the standings at 6-1 after dropping their first conference matchup this last weekend against Colorado School of Mines, an 80-79 overtime setback. New Mexico Highlands, Mines and Black Hills State are in second place, one game back of Dixie State at 5-2.
 
Four teams are at 4-3, that include Colorado Mesa, and two games back from the overall lead.
 
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
New Mexico Highlands is one of the teams just one game back from the top spot in the conference. The Cowboys lead the conference in offense averaging 95 points per game and rank last in defense allowing 84 points per game.
 
Raquan Mitchell and Sammy Barnes-Thompkins lead the Cowboys in scoring. Barnes-Thompkins averages 24.7 points per game and had a season-high 37 in their loss to Dixie State while Mitchell averages 23.8 points per game with a season-high 41 against Dixie State.
 
New Mexico Highlands head coach Mike Dominguez is a former Colorado Mesa basketball player. He was an NABC All-American for the Mavericks in 2010 where he averaged 21.6 points per game and led the team to the NCAA Central Region semifinals.
 
Last Five Matchups
January 11, 2019 - @ New Mexico Highlands 94, Colorado Mesa 82
February 24, 2018 – @ New Mexico Highlands 98, Colorado Mesa 84
December 16, 2017 – New Mexico Highlands 99, @ Colorado Mesa 96
February 24, 2017 - New Mexico Highlands 84, @ Colorado Mesa 79
December 17, 2016 - @ New Mexico Highlands 90, Colorado Mesa 78
 
FUN FACT: Checking through the notable alumni from New Mexico Highlands, retired MMA athlete and football player Keith Jardine is a former Cowboy. He fought in the UFC, Strikeforce, and King of the Cage.
 
SCOUTING CSU-PUEBLO
CSU-Pueblo is in the midst of a coaching change with Matt Hammer coming in and making an impact right away. The ThunderWolves are currently 6-7 on the year and 4-3 in the conference while going 2-4 in the non-conference schedule.
 
David Simental is leading the Pack in scoring at 17.2 points per game. Simental had a season-high 42 points in a game earlier against Fort Lewis. The redshirt sophomore is the lone ThunderWolf that has played in and started all 3 games on the year.
 
Last Five Matchups
January 12, 2019 – Colorado Mesa 98, @ CSU-Pueblo 91
February 23, 2018 – @ CSU-Pueblo 82, Colorado Mesa 69
December 15, 2017 – CSU-Pueblo 88, @ Colorado Mesa 72
February 25, 2017 - @ Colorado Mesa 96, CSU-Pueblo 85
December 16, 2016 – @ CSU-Pueblo 85, Colorado Mesa 75
 
FUN FACT: One of CSU-Pueblo's alumni is Dana Perino who was the White House Press Secretary for former President George W. Bush and is currently a Fox News contributor and co-host of the network's talk show; The Five.
 
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 continue its four-game homestand next week at home when they take on rivals Fort Lewis and Adams State in Brownson Arena. Fort Lewis enters this weekend with a 10-3 overall mark, 4-3 in the conference while Adams State is 5-8 overall and 3-4 in the RMAC.