GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – It was a short weekend home for the Colorado Mesa men's basketball team, however this weekend's road trip is the shortest of the season, taking the Mavericks to Durango to take on Fort Lewis and then just up the road to Gunnison for a rivalry match with Western State.

10^th WIN
The highly anticipated clash between the two unbeaten teams of CMU and Colorado School of Mines was postponed to Feb. 8, leaving the men with just a single game last week Saturday.

The Regis Rangers hoped to get a win for the weekend after dropping their first contest to Westminster the night before.

Throughout the first half, the Mavs held a small lead, only relinquishing it for a split second. With the teams trying to best each other, Regis capped off the first half with a 3-pointer, only to have Jared Small respond with a last second three of his own to put CMU up six going into the break.

Although CMU created a 10-point difference in the second half, RU used a series of three-pointers to close the gap and take the lead 69-66 with a minute left to play. Yet, again Jared Small would connect from deep to tie things up and force extra minutes.

It took one overtime period for the Mavs to solidify the win. Georgie Dancer converted on four free throws, adding a layup to put CMU up by four. A jumper from

Regis's leading scorer Brian Dawson put them up by one. For the third and final time, Jared Small would be clutch for his team, charging the open lane for the 81-80 score.
Dawson would attempt a last second shot but would not find the net, giving the Mavs their 10^th victory on the season.

10-0
Dating back to March 3, 2020 when the Mavs took down UCCS in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal match, the men's basketball win streak has extended to 12. This season they remain pristine with a 9-0 record. Colorado School of Mines is the other team in the league who has yet to drop a contest.
 
THE CLIMB CONTINUES  
Two weeks ago the Mavericks matched the program's highest ranking at No. 9, last week they set a new program high with a No. 8 ranking. In this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches poll release, the Colorado Mesa men's basketball team rose two spots to No. 6.
 
Colorado School of Mines remains at the top with 12 of the 16 first place points. The other four points were split between, Northern State (S.D.) who came in at No. 2, and Northwest Missouri State at No. 3.
 
This week marks the seventh straight week the Mavericks have been recognized in the national polls.
 
TEAM EFFORT
As the second half of the season starts to pick up, the Maverick offense ranks as the third highest scoring offense in the conference at 78.2 points per game, while outscoring their opponents by a 9.1 margin, the second highest margin in the RMAC.
CMU is one of four teams shooting over .500, and are second behind Colorado School of Mines in defense percentages, with opponents averaging .407 against them. The Mavs also sit third in three-point shooting percentage with .371
 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sophomore Ethan Menzies, continues to lead the Maverick's scoring efforts with 16.7 points per game. His efforts are ninth highest in the conference, and his .596 shooting clip remains 5^th in the conference. On the opposite end of the court, he averages 7.0 boards per game, sixth most in the conference. His 10 steals are third most on the team, and his nine blocks lead the team.
 
Senior, Jared Small has only played in four games this season but his offensive presence is something to take note of. In the overtime win against Regis, he posted a season high 16-points. He shot 4-for-6 from deep, one of which came in the final few seconds of the second half that helped tie the score and force the extra minutes. He also scored the final basket that pushed his team to the 81-80 final score.
 
Mac Riniker is a threat on both ends of the court. The redshirt freshman out of Steamboat Springs, is averaging 9.8-points, to go along with 5.0-rebounds. He leads the team in steals with 15, and also has five blocks to his name. If you missed his dunk from the Regis game, you can relive it in the highlight video.
 
SERIES vs. FORT LEWIS
The rivalry between these two teams dates back to 1978. In the overall series, the Mavs hold a 38-34 edge. Last season CMU added two wins to their total, taking the first meeting 105-91 in Brownson Arena, then gaining the season sweep with a 89-82 win over the Skyhawks in Durango a month later. The win on January 18, 2020 snapped a six game losing streak to FLC, dating back to 2016.
 
With an 2-3 overall record, the Skyhawks started the season on a strong note with back-to-back wins over Western State. Since then they have been on a 3-game skid, with their most recent loss coming at the hands of South Dakota Mines. They have not played a game since then.
 
As the second leading offense in the RMAC, and CMU sitting just behind them, the Skyhawks average 81.4 points per game, on .488 shooting.
 
A big part of the Skyhawks success comes from redshirt senior, Riley Farris. Farris, out of Hutto, Texas, averages 21.4-points per contest, to lead the team and third in the conference rankings. He also leads in rebounds (7.0), assists (22) and blocks (10). In the loss to South Dakota Mines, he scored a season high 31-points, and in the five games played so far this season he has yet to be held to single-digits.
 
SERIES vs. WESTERN STATE
Saturday's contest takes the Mavs just a little way up the road to Gunnison, to take on the Western State Mountaineers. In the overall series, CMU leads 49-19. Though the Mavs have seen a lot of success against the Mountaineers, the most recent meeting between the teams, last year on Feb. 28, saw Western State defend their home court and steal a win.
 
So far this season the Mountaineers sport a 2-6 record. After dropping their first four games, the notched their first win over South Dakota Mines, then made it two straight with a victory over Colorado Christian. The streak was cut short after dropping back-to-back road matches to Chadron State and Black Hills.
 
Sophomore, Matthew Ragsdale is the Mountaineer's leading scorer averaging 15.3 points per game.  From the floor he's shooting at a .400 clip, and he leads the team with 3-pointers made with 16. Fellow sophomore, Avery Rembao averages 11.5-points per game, while also grabbing 5.4-boards per night.

Saturday's game will tip-off at 6 p.m. MST. 
 
NEXT MATCHUP:
Following this weekend's road series, the men's basketball team will have a quick turnaround, playing host to Westminster in a midweek matchup on Tuesday in Brownson Arena.