GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The fourth-seeded Colorado Mesa (18-10, 14-8 RMAC) men's basketball team will host the fifth-seeded UCCS Mountain Lions (17-10, 13-9 RMAC) on Tuesday evening in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Quarterfinal matchup in Brownson Arena at 7:30pm.
 
KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Three-point Shooting – The Mavericks are among the top three-point shooters in the country in Division II. They make it at a 42.8 percent clip which is good enough for third best nationally. Jared Small and Kolten Peterson are among the conference's best at 51.8 percent and 48.1 percent respectively. If they Mavericks are hitting it from three, they will be tough to beat.
2. High Percentage Shots – Colorado Mesa is unbeaten (10-0) when they shoot 54.6 percent from the floor or better. They shot 49.1 percent or worse in nine of their ten losses this season. In the win over UCCS earlier this season, they shot an even 50 percent from the floor. The Mavericks rank No. 5 nationally in field goal percentage at 52.3 percent. High percentage shots and getting to the rim could be a difference maker.
3. DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE – Dallas Baptist, St. Edwards, and Dixie State all have three things in common, , they are all in the NCAA South Central Rankings, they all defeated Colorado Mesa this year and all shot under 50 percent from the field in their wins against Colorado Mesa. All other Maverick wins, the opponents shot less than 50 percent from the field. Make the opponents take tough shots and a happy outcome will follow. 

RMAC TOURNAMENT
Colorado Mesa qualified for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for the second straight season but will host a quarterfinal matchup as the No. 4 seed for the first time since March 1, 2016 when they defeated the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys 95-77 in Brownson Arena. The Mavericks will take on UCCS at 7:30pm on Tuesday.
 
Dixie State and Black Hills State were crowned co-champions of the RMAC with Dixie State earning the No. 1 seed as they defeated the Yellow Jackets in an early season matchup. The Trailblazers host No. 8 seed Regis while Black Hills State will play host to rival South Dakota Mines as the No. 7 seed.
 
Colorado School of Mines is the No. 3 seed and will play host to New Mexico Highlands who enters as the No. 6 seed.
 
PROTECT HOME COURT
The Mavericks have protected their home court this season and hosting a home playoff game for the first-time in four years is something the Maverick fans have been waiting for.
 
Colorado Mesa is 12-1 in Brownson Arena this year and have defeated opponents by an average of 12.6 points per game. In their home gym, the Mavericks are shooting 53.4 percent from the field and 42.6 percent from beyond the arc.
 
SCOUTING UCCS
The Mountain Lions have had a little bit of a roller coaster year as they lost one of their best players to an injury early in the season but have rebounded to have a solid season. They lost three of their last five games but had an impressive win over Black Hills State on Febraury 22 in Colorado Springs.
 
In the previous matchup between Colorado Mesa and UCCS, the Mavericks trailed by 12 points with 6:19 left but took the lead with 25 seconds left to edge the Mountain Lions 75-72 for their first conference road win of the season back on December 6.
 
Senior Padiet Wang is the all everything for UCCS. He leads the team in scoring at 16.8 points per game but is also the team's best defender and will likely earn RMAC Defensive Player of the Year. Wang is averaging 22 points in the team's last five games and scored a season-high 28 points in the win over New Mexico Highlands just two weeks ago.
 
Last Five Matchups
December 6, 2019 – Colorado Mesa 75, @ UCCS 72
December 7, 2018 - @ Colorado Mesa 89, UCCS 79
January 20, 2018 - @ UCCS 90, Colorado Mesa 68
January 21, 2017 - @ Colorado Mesa 80, UCCS 75
January 9, 2016 - @ UCCS 86, Colorado Mesa 82

FUN FACT: Current San Antonio Spur Derrick White played his first three years of college basketball at UCCS before transferring up the road to Colorado. One of the more memorable matchups between the Mavericks and White came in 2015 where the Mavericks won 100-92 in Colorado Springs. Maverick All-American Ryan Stephan scored 40 points and pulled down 15 rebounds while White scored 34 points and had eight rebounds.
 
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
If the Mavericks were to win, they would likely go on the road for the Final Four of the RMAC Tournament with a matchup on Friday. If the Mavericks win and they are the highest seed remaining in the field, they would host the Final Four of the RMAC Tournament.
 
If Colorado Mesa loses, their season would likely be over but would have an extremely outside shot of receiving an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament.