GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Colorado Mesa pulled away in the second half, turning a two-point halftime deficit into a comfortable 81-64 win over St. Edward's to start the 2022-23 season in the D2 Conference Crossover, presented by the Holiday Inn - Airport and Grand Junction Sports Commission.
Trevor Baskin finished just shy of a dominant double-double with 26 points and nine rebounds,
Blaise Threatt added 16 points and
Mac Riniker wreaked havoc, forcing five steals and drawing eight St. Edward's fouls. The Mavs trounced the Hilltoppers inside, outscoring St. Edward's 42-12 in the paint, including 22-6 in the second half.
The Mavericks came out of the gate hot. Riniker threw down a thunderous dunk 20 seconds into the game and the Mavs scored on four of their first five trips down the floor, culminating in a driving
Reece Johnson layup that staked CMU to a 9-2 lead.
St. Edward's quickly turned the tide, however, as Bennett Mohn was fouled on a three-point attempt and hit all three foul shots before a pair of made threes by Mohn and Carson Tuttle sparked a St. Edward's 8-0 run that gave the Hilltoppers a 20-15 lead.
Hot three-point shooting was the key for St. Edward's in the first half, as the visitors went 6-for-13 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes. The Hilltoppers headed into the locker room with a 37-35 lead.
St. Edward's kept its touch from behind the arc early on as Jeff Gary hit a four-point play just over two minutes into the second half to open up a 43-36 lead, which would be St. Edwards' largest of the game. The Mavericks immediately answered with Baskin making the first of two free throws and missing the second but scoring a layup after a CMU offensive board for another two points.
With 11:39 left, a pair of
Christopher Speller free throws made it 49-49 before a Baskin driving layup put CMU up 51-49, its first lead since 15-12 in the first half. Baskin made two free throws on the Mavs' next possession, and although St. Edward's retook a 54-53 lead with a brief 5-0 run, Baskin answered yet again with a layup, defensive rebound and outlet pass to
Reece Johnson for a fast-break layup.
The Hilltoppers turned the ball over again before the under-eight media timeout came with Colorado Mesa up, 57-54. The Mavericks never trailed again.
CMU padded its lead with lethal transition offense. Off a St. Edward's missed jumper, they raced down the floor for an open Baskin dunk. Riniker forced a steal on the next possession and made a 360 spinning layup on the ensuing break for a 65-56 CMU lead. Despite being relatively even on turnovers (St. Edward's had 11, CMU had nine), the Mavs outscored the Hilltoppers 17-3 on the fast break throughout the contest.
Colorado Mesa steadily upped its lead the rest of the way as baskets inside became easier. Bennett Mohn, who paced St. Edward's with 12 points and went a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc, made his final three-pointer with 2:13 left to cut the CMU lead to 73-64.
Blaise Threatt rattled off a personal 5-0 run to stretch the lead to 78-64 before both teams emptied their benches for the final minute.
Michael McCurry,
Levi Dombro,
Ty Allred, Elijah Knudsen and
Sam Goulet got on the court for the final 1:09, with Goulet splashing home a three-pointer to delight a packed Brownson Arena and provide the final scoring margin.
The Mavs shot 52.9 percent from the field (27-51), a 17-point advantage over the Hilltoppers' 35.1 percent. The Mavericks also got to the line at a higher clip, making 22 of 29 from the charity stripe compared to 13 of 16 for the visitors.
Colorado Mesa will look to make it a 2-0 weekend tomorrow night against Dallas Baptist at 7 p.m. Both schools received votes in the preseason national poll.
DBU was victorious over Colorado Christian in Friday's opening game, defeating the Cougars 89-60. Colorado Christian will take on St. Edward's at 5 p.m. tomorrow before the Mavs hit the court.
