ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Colorado Mesa men's basketball team did something it has never done during the NCAA Division II era which began in 1993. The Mavericks defeated Colorado School of Mines 69-61 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game to give them their first title since joining NCAA Division II.
 
The Mavericks led nearly wire-to-wire and they led by as many as 13 with 18:39 to play following a short jumper by Ethan Richardson.
 
Despite the lead, Mines worked their way back in the second half and actually took the lead with 1:09 to play after an and one layup by Brendan Sullivan. Sullivan hit the free-throw to give the Orediggers a 58-57 lead, their first of the game.
 
On the ensuing possession, Colorado Mesa swung the ball around the perimeter until they found a wide-open Tommy Nuno underneath the basket but instead of taking the shot, he decided to wing the ball out to teammate Georgie Dancer who was wide open at the top of the key. Dancer buried the three-point shot to give the Mavericks the lead for good at 60-58 with 58 seconds left to play.
 
Colorado Mesa's final nine points of the game came at the free-throw line.
 
Tommy Nuno was named the tournament's most valuable player after finishing the championship game with a double-double at 18 points and 15 rebounds. The Half Moon Bay, Calif. native was 5-for-10 from the field and 8-for-10 from the free throw line.
 
All-tournament team recipient Michael Skinner led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and pulled down seven rebounds.
 
Ethan Richardson had 18 points on the night and was named to the all-tournament team along with Jared Small who finished the night with four points and seven rebounds.
 
Coupled with the women's program's win in the RMAC Tournament Championship, it was the first time since 2011 that both men's and women's programs from any RMAC school won both RMAC Tournament titles.
 
The Mavericks are now 21-10 on the season which matches the 2016 team. A win in the NCAA Tournament would give them the most wins since the 2009-10 team won 23 games.
 
The win also secures a spot in the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's automatic bid. The tournament will begin next Saturday at a site to be determined. It will be the seventh time the program will compete in the NCAA Tournament.