The Colorado Mesa men's basketball team will close out a four game road swing this weekend, as they stay in state to take on Adams State and CSU Pueblo.

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In one of their longest road trips of the season last weekend, the Colorado Mesa men's basketball team came out with a huge win over Black Hills State on Friday and prevailed in double-overtime over Chadron State on Saturday.
The Yellow Jackets were a perfect 7-for-7 from beyond the arc in the first half, giving them the 36-30 advantage going into the break. The Mavericks sparked a comeback though within the final five minutes of play to claim the 75-70 victory. Christopher Speller played a large part in the comeback, scoring all 17 of his points in the second half, shooting an efficient 6-for-7 from the floor, and 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.
 
Chadron State came out firing from all cylinders on Saturday, and similar to BHSU, connected from deep nine times to CMU's three to gain an early advantage. Although the Mavs were ahead going into the last few minutes of regulation, the Eagles tied it up and forced extra minutes. After trading blows in the first overtime period, the Mavs were in full control in the second overtime period – outscoring the Eagles 12-3 to claim the 77-69 win.
 
MOVING UP THE RANKS
For the second straight week the Colorado Mesa men's basketball team found themselves ranked amongst the best in the nation, this week moving up five spots to No. 17.
 
Colorado School of Mines climbed to No. 5, with Fort Lewis and Westminster receiving votes.
 
Eight teams throughout the South Central region are among the national rankings. West Texas A&M (No.3), Mines (No.5), St. Edward's (No.11) and CMU (No. 17) make up the four main teams, with Dallas Baptist, Texas A&M Kingsville, Lubbock Christian, and Fort Lewis receiving votes.
 
TEAM EFFORT
Five Mavs are averaging double-digits so far this season, with four out of five being underclassmen. Sophomore, Ethan Menzies does a little bit of everything for the team, averaging a team high 17.5-points and 8.0 rebounds. In the double-overtime win over Chadron State, he finished 9-for-12 from the field for 22-points.
 
Freshman, Reece Johnson averages 12.5-points per game off the bench and has the second most assists on the team with 12. Redshirt freshman, Mac Riniker has started all four contests so far for the Mavs and averages 12.0-points per game, while also leading the team in steals with seven.
 
Georgie Dancer has only appeared in two games, but had double-digit performances in both those contests.
 
Freshman, Christopher Speller rounds out the Mavs in double digits, averaging 10.5 points per game while also leading the team with 13 assists.
 
 
SERIES VS. ADAMS STATE
Under sixth year head coach Russ Caton, the Adams State Grizzlies were projected to finish 13^th in the preseason poll. After opening the season with a pair of losses to Weber State and Utah Valley, the Grizzlies bounced back with wins over UCCS and CSU Pueblo, before falling to South Dakota Mines last weekend.
 
ASU's leading scorer and defensive player Frederick Jackson did not appear in last weekend's game against South Dakota Mines. Despite missing the game, the 6-foot-8 forward averages 19.0 points per game, and 7.5 rebounds. Senior, Kaelin Crane averages 27.3 minutes per game in three games, earning starts in all three, averaging 16.0 points per game. Crane and Jackson have combined for eight blocked shots.
 
The last time these teams met was towards the end of February of this year, with CMU hanging on for a 94-91 win in Alamosa.
 
SERIES VS. CSU PUEBLO
After finishing last season with an 11-17 record, CSUP was voted ninth in this season's preseason poll.
 
The Thunderwolves of CSU Pueblo are led by second year head coach Matt Hammer. Although they have yet to put a mark in the win column, the Grizzlies put up a fight last weekend against Division I Colorado State in an exhibition match.
 
Against RMAC opponents the Thunderwolves dropped a 83-76 decision to Adams State, and a 83-67 decision to UCCS.
 
Coastal Carolina transfer Tre Brown is leading CSUP's scoring efforts, averaging just over 20-points per game. The 6-foot-2 guard from Tacoma Washington put up 21-points against Adams and followed up with another 20-points against UCCS.
 
NEXT YEAR:
This weekend's games will close out the 2020 portion of the season, as the team takes a NCAA mandated break for the Christmas holiday. After the break, the team will open up the new year against UCCS on Jan. 4 in Brownson Arena.