Dallas, Texas. – The Colorado Mesa men's basketball team is on the road for the second time this season, heading to Dallas, Texas for the Lone Star vs. Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Challenge, hosted by Dallas Baptist. The Mavericks will take on hosts, Dallas Baptist in the weekend opener, Friday before Saturday's meeting with St. Edwards.

Maverick fans can follow along with live stats and live stream is available for purchase on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network.

A Look Back
Just two weeks after their first official day of practice, Colorado Mesa headed to Canyon, Texas for a series of games in the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic, hosted by West Texas A&M.

The team dropped the season opener 72-63, to the host team. Owen Koonce led the team with 12-points and 10-rebounds for a double-double, Georgie Dancer being the other player in double-digits with 10-points.

On day two, the Mavs bounced back with a 76-65 triumph of Daemon College (N.Y). Four players finished in double-figures for CMU, Trevor Baskin and Mac Riniker each with 17-points to their credit. Blaise Threatt added 14-points, and was one shy of a double-double with nine rebounds.

Christopher Speller rounded out the leading scorers with 10-points, going a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Their third game in as many days, the Mavericks fell 71-81 to MSU Moorhead, finishing the weekend 1-2 against teams who were either ranked or receiving votes in the preseason NABC Coaches Poll. Riniker put together 20-points, followed by Koonce with 17.

Early Start
This weekend will serve as the season openers for both Dallas Baptist and St. Edwards, but Colorado Mesa will already three games under their belt, all of which were also against nationally recognized teams.

The Mavericks are averaging 70.0 points per game, and are shooting at a .443 clip from the floor. Defensively, they hung with the competition averaging 37.3 rebounds, along with just over four blocks per game in the opening weekend.

Scouting the Opponents
No. 19 Dallas Baptist Patriots
Friday will serve as the season opener for the 19^th-ranked Dallas Baptist Patriots. An NCAA Regional semifinalist from a season ago, they finished last season with a 17-5 record. They head into the 2021-22 campaign picked to finish third in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll, but picked up a pair of first-place votes.
They return All-LSC performers William Heather, Carson Hughes, Jalen White, along with Ricky Lujan who had a standout freshman season, earning him LSC Freshman of the Year honors.
Heather started all 22 matches, averaging 10.1 ppg. He finished second on the team in assists with 63, while leading the team in blocks with 27. White was just outside of averaging double-figures at 9.2 ppg, along with 5.5 rebounds. Hughes averaged 10.4 ppg, 4.0 rebounds while dishing out 92 assists and picking up 22 steals.
In the series history the teams are split, 3-3 with DBU squeaking out the last meeting in 2019 by a 67-66 score.  

RV St. Edwards
St. Edwards will have a couple games under their belt, having played an exhibition against Rice on Nov. 4, and will have taken on Colorado Christian on day one of the challenge.

The Hilltoppers were picked to finish fifth in the LSC preseason poll, and took home a first-place vote. They concluded last season 12-8 overall, and advanced to the conference tournament championship, upsetting higher seeds along the way.

Daniel Venzant returns as the second leading scorer, averaging 18.0 ppg last season. Defensively, the team returns Logan Cook who averaged 8.8 rebounds and collected 12 blocks and 34 steals.  

NABC Preseason Poll
Reaching the pinnacle of the program, claiming a No. 1 ranking in the final National Association of Basketball Coaches poll last season, the Mavericks continue to garner national recognition heading into this season, coming in at No. 4 in the preseason poll, and picking up a first-place vote.

Reigning national champions Northwest Missouri State garnered 15 out of the possible 16 first-place votes to take the top-spot. Flagler came in at No. 2, followed by West Texas A&M, Colorado Mesa, and fellow RMAC member Colorado School of Mines at No.5.

RMAC Favorites
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference released their preseason poll, Wednesday as the Mavericks were favored to repeat.
CMU snagged 12 of the 15 first-place votes for 192-points. Colorado School of Mines, Black Hills and Fort Lewis each picked up one of the other three votes, projected to finish 2^nd, 3^rd and 5^th respectively. UCCS garnered 134-points to take the No. 4 spot, completing the top-5.

The Mavericks finished the condensed 2020-21 season with a 21-2 mark, 18-1 in conference play. The team went on an 11-game win streak from the get-go, going on another 10-game streak following their only loss in the loop, which included claiming back-to-back RMAC Tournament titles in a 75-74 overtime thriller over Colorado School of Mines, completing the season with a  perfect 6-0 record when pushed into extra time.
With the automatic bid, the team returned to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year, this time as the No. 1 seed in the West Regional.

Familiar Faces
Senior, Georgie Dancer returns to the Maverick lineup after averaging 12.6 points per game last go around, and led the team dishing out 67 assists.
The Modesto, Calif. native was a constant contributor for CMU throughout the season, leading them to an RMAC regular season title, and back-to-back tournament titles. His efforts landed him on the NABC All-West Region First Team, along with All-RMAC First Team honors. In the tournament championship he produced 18-points, and came away with a key block in the final seconds to force extra time to be voted to the All-Tournament team.

Jared Small is another senior veteran who came in clutch for the Mavs. He averaged 7.2 points coming off the bench, along with 3.9 rebounds and was the fifth player to record double-digit blocks. In the title game, he was 3-for-6 from deep, coming up with a key three-pointer in the final seconds to even the score and force the teams to overtime.

Young Veterans
Christopher Speller, Reece Johnson, Trevor Baskin and Blaise Threatt all return for the second season with the Mavericks, but are still technically considered freshman with the COVID-season exception.

Named RMAC Freshman of the Year and Honorable Mention team member, Speller stepped into the starting line up last season and contributed 8.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, and was second on the team in assists (58) and steals (29). He tallied double-figures in six games, with a career-high 29 points against CSU Pueblo.

Johnson came off the bench and provided an offensive spark, playing in all 23-games, collecting double-figures in 10 of those outings. In a 100-98 come from behind win at Adams State, he put in a season high 20-points, going 6-for-9 from the field, with a trio of three pointers and five free throws.

Baskin used his 6'8 frame to his advantage, averaging 4.8 points, and 3.3 rebounds. Behind Ethan Menzies, he was second in blocks with 22 on the season. His 13-points in the regional semifinal was second on the team, going 6-for-10 from the floor.
Threatt was an unexpected threat for the Mavs, coming out of the woodworks and producing the fourth best scoring average on the team at 8.9 ppg. His 24-points against South Dakota Mines, led the scoring efforts, going 10-for-17, and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. 

Return of the Mac
Another seasoned veteran in the Mavericks lineup is Steamboat Springs product, Mac Riniker. Riniker did a little bit of everything, averaging 7.1 points and defensively sat second with 4.4 rebounds, and lead the team in steals with 31.

He had three straight games in double-figures and came up with team leading 14-points in the RMAC Quarterfinal against Adams State. Earlier in the season he was a point shy of a double-double with nine points, and a season high 14 boards against CSU Pueblo.

New Faces
Head coach Mike DeGeorge returned four out of the five starters from last season, and added three freshman and three transfers during the off season.

Owen Koonce and Isaac Jessup transferred in after a stint at CU Boulder. Christian Speller, will team up with twin brother Christopher Speller in the coming seasons – jumping from RMAC foe MSU Denver.

Ty Allred, Eddie Kurjak and Eric Pollert will make their Maverick debuts, Pollert another Steamboat Springs addition. Kurjak comes out of well-known program Longmont High School, and joins Mona, Utah addition and Juab High School State Champion Allred.