GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – With just a couple of weekends left in the regular season, the Colorado Mesa men's basketball team heads to the front range this weekend, looking to sweep the series over Regis before meeting up with No. 1 Colorado School of Mines on Saturday to cap off the weekend.
RUN IT BACK
Up against an athletic Adams State squad, the Mavericks brought their record in overtime games to 5-0, claiming an 80-66 victory over the Grizzlies to sweep the season series.
After just the first half, CMU held a 25-8 edge in rebounds and withheld the Grizzlies from scoring, keeping them at a 38.7 shooting clip. The Mavs were hitting an efficient 59.3 percent and acted on their strength with 28 points in the paint, taking a 36-26 edge as the teams headed into the locker room for the half.
The second half was the opposite as Adams State started to find their offensive groove, causing problems for the Mavs in the lane with 20 points to CMU's 12. By an identical score of 36-26, the game was tied up and headed into extra minutes.
Nothing new to the Mavs, they came out firing on all cylinders, getting contributions from five different players.
David Rico hit a couple of big 3-pointers in the period, as the team knocked in 18 points, while limiting their counterparts to just four points.
Ethan Menzies was at the forefront of the CMU offense with a 22-point performance on 11-of-16 shooting. He fell shy of notching his third double-double of the season with nine rebounds, but did match his season high of two blocks, to go along with a pair of steals.
Georgie Dancer and
Jared Small were the other Maverick players in double-figures with 13 and 14 points respectively.
MAC ATTACK
Just a redshirt freshman,
Mac Riniker causes problems for opponents. The 6-foot-5 guard averages 7.6 points per game, while also averaging 4.7 boards for his team. Out of Steamboat Springs, he leads the team in steals with 23, and matches that in offensive rebounds.
SPELL(ER) IT OUT
Freshman,
Christopher Speller is making a name for himself in his first season with the Mavs. The guard out of Aurora, Colo. is averaging just over nine points per game, while creating opportunities and finding his teammates with a team high 38 assists. Defensively he sits second on the team with 20 steals, and is the third player in double figure blocks with 12.
NATIONALLY RANKED
With two more wins added to their season total, sitting at 14-1, the Mavs continued to move up the ranks, coming in at No. 7 in the most recent National Association of Basketball Coaches poll release.
Now make it the sixth consecutive week, Colorado School of Mines came in at the No. 1 spot, garnering 12 of the 16 first-place votes, having yet to drop a contest this season.
REGIONAL CHANGES
The Division II Management and Presidents Council met in early February to affirm plans for the upcoming 2021 winter championships. Among those plans, was adjusting the 2021 basketball regional alignment which the Presidents council had the final say on.
As per the NCAA: "The traditional regional alignments for the 2021 Division II Men's and Women's Basketball Championships have been adjusted to a blended alignment, allowing more equitable opportunity for teams to advance to their respective championship. The one-year regional alignment, keeps seven of the eight regionals between 27-33 active teams, as shown in the table below."
| Region |
2021 Conferences/Active Teams |
Total Active Teams After Adjustment (Before) |
| Atlantic |
MEC/12 |
G-MAC/12* |
PSAC/3 |
CIAA/0 |
27 (15) |
| Central |
MIAA/14 |
NSIC/16 |
|
|
30 (42) |
| East |
ECC/6 |
CACC/7 |
NE10/1 |
|
14 (14) |
| Midwest |
GLIAC/12 |
GLVC/15 |
|
|
27 (39) |
| South |
GSC/13 |
PBC/12* |
SSC/3 |
|
28 (25) |
| South Central |
LSC/16 |
GAC/12* |
|
|
28 (30) |
| Southeast |
SAC/13 |
CC/11 |
SIAC/9* |
|
33 (36) |
| West |
RMAC/14* |
PWC/11 |
GNAC/2 |
CCAA/0 |
27 (13) |
*Conference is now in a different region as part of the one-year adjustments approved by the Division II Management Council and Presidents Council Feb. 5.
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams will now be aligned with the West Region. The region will be comprised of active teams from the RMAC, PacWest and Great Northwest Athletic Conferences.
SCOUTING THE RANGERS
Despite a 3-7 record, the Regis Rangers are not to be overlooked. When the came to Grand Junction, they threatened to spoil the Mavs then undefeated record. They came from behind to force and overtime period, but fell 81-80.
The conference's second highest leading scorer, Brian Dawson put in 29-points for his team that night. On the season, Dawson averages nearly 22-points, while also dishing out 2.4 assists and grabbing 2.4 steals per game.
Aaron Bokal pulls down 4.5 rebounds per game to lead the Rangers defensive efforts, in addition to 20 steals.
MATCHUP WITH COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
With two postponed matchups already, Saturday's nationally ranked contest has been a long time coming. It will be the first time the teams meet up this season, and nearly a year since they last met in the 2020 RMAC Tournament Championship, which saw the Mavs take home the title, 69-61.
The Orediggers are the team to beat, and the Mavs would enjoy nothing more than handing them their first loss of the season. Sitting a top the conference at 11-0, the Orediggers average just over 78 points, while keeping their opponents to just 62 points for a 16.3 difference.
Brendan Sullivan plays a key role in the Oredigger's offense, sitting fifth in the league averaging just under 20-points each night. The junior out of Highlands Ranch, hits an efficient .597 from the floor, and contributes on the defense with 4.3 boards. His 25 assists and 19 steals also lead the team.
NEXT MATCHUP:
Following the road trip, the Mavericks return to the Western Slope to avenge their loss to Western State, Friday. Followed by a meeting with Fort Lewis on Saturday.
