Grand Junction, Colo. – Road matches are up next for the Colorado Mesa men's basketball team, as they head over to the front range to faceoff with Colorado School of Mines, Friday before a rumble with Regis Saturday.
Maverick fans can stream the game and follow live stats at the cmumavericks.com

Weekend Recap
It was a weekend split for the Mavericks last weekend. A last second 75-shot by MSU Denver, gave way to the 85-84 heartbreaking loss for CMU, however the following night they would leave no doubt in a 101-66 victory over Colorado Christian.

Trevor Baskin paced the Mavericks with a double-double (24 points, 10 rebounds) against the Roadrunners, adding another 23-points to his season total against the Cougars. He would finish the weekend averaging 23.5 points on 61.5 percent shooting.

Reece Johnson and Blaise Threatt averaged around 16-points for the weekend. Jared Small averaged 11.5 points, Mac Riniker rounding out the contingent with 10 ppg.

Big Time
Just a redshirt freshman, Baskin is stepping up in the big role this season and is serving up problems for opponents both offensively and defensively. The Pomona High School product, is the team's leading scorer at 13.8 points per game, and is fifth in the RMAC in shooting percentage at 57.6. He also climbs the blocks category with 30 on the season, averaging 1.5 per game.

He's scored in double-figures in the last nine games, with a block or more in the last five 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.

Over the last three games he has tallied 80-points, including a season and career high 33-points against Black Hills State and back-to-back 20-plus point outings last weekend. His efforts earned him Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week, the first for the young veteran.

Hot Shots
On any given night, any Maverick player can go off. The balance is clear from starters to points off the bench. Threatt is averaging 13.0 ppg, with double-figures in the last three outings.

Johnson was sharp behind the arc this past weekend, going 9-of-15 in the Mavericks shooting success that saw double-digits baskets from deep. Riniker continues to do a little bit of everything, effectively scoring and providing a big presence on defense, his field goal percentage of 65.7 is the top percentage in the RMAC.

The two seniors, Small and (Georgie) Dancer are steady for CMU and are key leaders for the young team. Small averages around 10 points, Dancer at 8.3 but handles most of the distributing with 64 assists on the season.

No Easy Points
The offensive efficiency of the Mavericks at 49.8 percent has been big, defensively keeping opponents around a 40.1 field goal percentage, both marks putting them atop the league. Opponents average around 66.6 points, the Mavericks outscoring the opposition by a 13.1 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 4.8 blocks per game, just shy of 100 for the season, with multiple blocks in each of the 20 outings with a season high nine on two occasions.

Scouting the Orediggers (6-7, 4-5 RMAC) **Masks are required for this contest
The Orediggers of Colorado School of Mines enter the weekend after splitting their previous weekend series. Two-points decided their match against Regis (64-66), but they responded with an 89-56 win over South Dakota Mines days later.

Collectively, they rank amongst the top defenses in the league. Ben Boone and Brendan Sullivan average 15.2 points each, with Sullivan leading the way with 5.2 rebounds, 17 steals and 11 blocks.

Colorado Mesa has bested the Orediggers in the last three meetings, two being in RMAC Tournament play, including last years 75-74 overtime thriller which gave the Mavericks back-to-back tournament championships.

Scouting the Rangers (13-1, 8-0 RMAC)
Ranked No. 12 in the latest NABC poll, the Rangers are the only undefeated team left after CMU handed Black Hills their first loss a couple weeks back.
Since losing their season opener to Lubbock Christian, they have gone on with claim 13 straight. 4 out of their 5 starters are the team's leading scorers,

Brian Dawson at the forefront with 18.1 ppg (44.2 %) and the top free throw percentage in the league. Will Cranston-Lown tallies 13.6 ppg, his 57 assists the most on the team. He and teammate Troy Brady are 2^nd and 4^th in the RMAC in steals, respectively.

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.