Grand Junction, Colo. – Colorado Mesa Men's Basketball is back in Brownson Arena this week hosting a pair of conference matches against Fort Lewis and crosstown rival Western Colorado. Friday's contest against the Skyhawks, leads into Blizzard in Brownson on Saturday against the Mountaineers. Both games scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Maverick fans can stream the game and follow live stats at the cmumavericks.com
Weekend Recap
The Mavericks spent last weekend over in the Denver area, taking on Colorado School of Mines Friday and dropping a 58-68 decision to the Orediggers.

After a 16-4 run to close out the first half, CMU fell quiet in the second half giving way for CSM to take over and maintain the edge.

Georgie Dancer led with 16 points for the Mavs, Jared Small (14) and Blaise Threatt (10) the others in double-digits. Mac Riniker contributed across the defense with seven rebounds, a block and a steal.

The following day it was a different narrative, for the second time this season the Mavericks would spoil an undefeated conference record with an 86-80 victory over Regis. Using a 12-0 run towards the end of the first period, the Mavs pulled within three, trailing going into halftime.

A continuation of that run led to CMU taking over and upholding that lead for remainder of the night. Behind a 60.0 % efficiency, the favor went the way of the Mavs who put in two more baskets and one more 3-pointer, while also pulling down four more rebounds.

Six players capped off the night in double-figures, led by Reece Johnson who drained a career high 25-points thanks to 5, 3-pointers.
Speaking of 3-Pointers
3-out of the last 4 games, the Mavericks ability to score on long range shots has been prominent. Against MSU Denver they knocked down a season high 15, nearly matching that the following night with 12 against Colorado Christian.

In their upset of Regis, they drained 10 of their 18 attempts. Credit Johnson for five of those baskets in that contest.

There has been a strong paint presence for the Mavs, but adding to their offensive threat has been their ability to score beyond the arc. Jared Small has 38 to his credit, at the forefront in that category.

Balanced Attack
On any given night, any Maverick player can go off. The balance is clear from starters to points off the bench. Threatt is averaging 12.9 ppg, with double-figures in the last five outings.

When he gets going, Johnson is a problem beyond the arc. Against Regis he went 5-of-6 from deep, matching his single game high, while pushing his season total to 32, 3-pt field goals. Riniker continues to do a little bit of everything, effectively scoring and providing a big presence on defense, his field goal percentage of 63.9 is the second highest 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 10.1 points, leading the team in the 3-point category, while Dancer at 9.0 ppg handles most of the distributing with 71 assists on the season.

Hitting for a High Percentage
The offensive efficiency of the Mavericks at 49.7 percent has been big, defensively keeping opponents around a 40.1 field goal percentage, both marks within the top of the league. The team combined for a season best 69.2 % against Colorado Christian, their third time eclipsing the 60 percent mark. In their recent win over Regis, they capped off the night hitting 60 percent from the field, and over 50 percent from beyond the arc.

The team averages 35.3 rebounds, adding to their defensive prowess an average of 4.7 blocks per game, now over 100 for the season, with multiple blocks in each of the 22 outings with a season high nine on two occasions.

Scouting the Skyhawks (9-6, 5-4 RMAC)
Fort Lewis comes off a weekend split, taming CSU Pueblo (85-76) before dropping an overtime nail biter 89-90 finish to Adams State. The top offense in the RMAC, the team averages 86.1 points per game.

Riley Farris is a key contributor to the team's scoring, averaging 19.7 points, on 51.2 percent shooting. Alongside Farris is Brendan Boatwright who averages 12.5 points and 5.4 rebounds, both players towering in at 6'9.

Akuel Kot cashes in 14.1 points and a couple of rebounds, leading the team in 3-pointers.

Scouting the Mountaineers (4-13, 3-8 RMAC)
The rivalry continues on Saturday with the Mountaineers making their way up to Brownson Arena, coming off an overtime win over CSU Pueblo last weekend. The team's two other wins in the loop, came over MSU Denver and Colorado School of Mines.

Matthew Ragsdale is the primary scorer averaging 22.2 points on a 45.3 clip. He averages around 2.6 baskets from three-point range, and had a massive 53-point game against Black Hills State earlier in the season. In the last four games he has produced over 20 points, with 30 in the overtime win.

Elijah Davidson is the leading rebounder averaging the sixth most boards in the RMAC at 6.6. Jaelan McCloud is the top, 3-point shooter hitting at a 47.9 clip.
When the team's met last year in Gunnison, the Mountaineers came out in front, the Mavericks only loss in conference play.

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.