Grand Junction, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa men's basketball team returns to Brownson Arena, hosting MSU Denver and Colorado Christian for their first home games of 2022. They will look to avenge their earlier loss to the Roadrunner Friday, then turn their attention to the Cougars on Saturday.

Maverick fans can follow along with the games at the link above. 

Run It Back
With some shifting of the schedule and just eight players in total, the Mavericks made their way to Spearfish, S.D. last weekend looking to even the score, with a win at Black Hills State.

Five players logged 30 or more minutes on the hardwood, the effort paying off as the Mavericks came away with the 81-71 victory, while also handing the Yellowjackets their first conference loss.

Trevor Baskin finished with a career high 33-points on 13-of-16 shooting, adding eight rebounds on the night. Blaise Threatt tacked on 22-points, six rebounds and a pair of steals, Mac Riniker handling a lot of defensive duties with 10 rebounds and three steals.

Colorado Mesa held their opponent to single digits in the first 10-minutes of the second half, while they opened up with 11 unanswered points to overtake the lead and not relinquishing it for the remainder of the game. They shot at a 50.8 clip to Black Hills' 45.3, 44 points coming inside the paint. 

Big Time
Just a redshirt freshman, Baskin is stepping up in the big role in the absence of Ethan Menzies this season. The Pomona High School product, is the team's leading scorer at 12.7 points per game, while also climbing the blocks category with 25 on the season thus far.

He's scored in double-figures in the last seven games, with multiple blocks in five of those seven games. He posted double-doubles in both outings during the Holiday Inn Airport Thanksgiving Classic, denying a season high five shots against Our Lady of the Lake.

With five more blocks he matches Chad Baar who posted 30 during the 1994 and 1995 seasons. With six more he would tie his father, Jon Baskin who collected 31 in 1988 and 1989. Jared Small holds the No. 9 spot in single season blocks with 32 during the 2019 season.

Evenly Distributed
Four players are averaging double-figures, but it could be anyone's game on any given day. Behind Baskin, Blaise Threatt remains an offensive presence averaging 12.6 points, matching Baskin with 5.1 rebounds.

Mac Rinker who is a consistent starter, averages 11.6 points and leads the rebounding efforts with 5.7 and steals with team high 26.

At 10.0 points average is transfer Owen Koonce. Although absent in recent games, prior to break he was on a stretch of double-digit games posting 14 and 13 in the Mavericks wins over Adams State and CSU Pueblo.

Restricted Access
While the offensive presence has been clear thus far for the Mavericks, their defense has kept opponents to a 39.9 field goal percentage the top mark in the league. Opponents average around 65.9 points, the Mavericks outscoring the opposition by a 12.5 margin, both of which are second best marks in the RMAC.

The team averages 35.3 rebounds, adding to their defensive prowess an average of 4.5 blocks per game, closing in on 100 for the season, with multiple blocks in each of the 18 outings with a season high nine on two occasions.

Roadrunner Recon (11-2, 5-2 RMAC)
The MSU Denver Roadrunners enter the weekend having an extended break with the postponement of their game last week against Fort Lewis. Riding a four-game winning streak, their last wins came over Adam State and CSU Pueblo.

With the Mavericks coming in as the second scoring defense in the league, the Roadrunners hold the top spot limiting opponents to 65.4 ppg. A key part of the that is due to having the RMAC's top-rebounder in Laolu Oke. The sophomore is averaging a double-double with 14.5 points and 12.3 rebounds, a quarter of his average coming on offense. His efforts have led to six RMAC Defensive Player of the Week awards in eight weeks of play.

Since their last contest, Ra'Shawn Langston is the team's top scorer averaging 17.3 points, Miles Gibson and Tyrei Randall with 14.2 and 12.5.

Scouting the Cougars (4-9,1-6 RMAC)
The Cougars of Colorado Christian will await another shot against the Mavericks on Saturday, entering this week also on an extended break due to postponed game last weekend. Coming out of the break, they dropped contests to Adams State and CSU Pueblo, claiming just one conference win over South Dakota Mines back in December.

One of the league's top scorers takes the court for CCU in Ross Williams. The senior averages 21.9 points per game, just one of four in the RMAC. Since being held to four points against St. Edwards, he has put up double-digits in all of his appearances, which includes a season high 39-points against South Dakota Mines, in which in drained nine 3-pointers.

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.