GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Blaise Threatt's 24 points were not enough as Colorado Mesa fell behind early and couldn't close the gap late in a 73-62 loss to Texas A&M International.

The Mavs suffered their first loss of the 2022-23 season, falling to 3-1 overall. TAMIU improved to 4-0 with the win.

The home team won with a deep roster, as TAMIU played nine players for 14 minutes or more. The Dustdevils crushed CMU in bench points, outscoring the Mavs 42-9 in that department. The Dustdevils also shot the lights out, hitting 49 percent from the field and 50 percent from three (9-for-18).

Colorado Mesa jumped out to a 7-4 lead after a TAMIU offensive foul and a Threatt jumper. The Dustdevils gradually moved ahead, leading 21-15 with 9:06 to play in the first half, but an Owen Koonce steal kicked off a fast break that ended in a Threatt alley-oop pass to Trevor Baskin to tie the score at 24-24 with seven minutes until halftime.

From there, however, the Dustdevils went on a run. After Threatt gave CMU a brief 26-24 lead with a pair of free throws, TAMIU went on a 15-0 run over a three-and-a-half-minute span, eventually heading to the locker room with a 39-27 lead.

Unfortunately for the Mavs, the halftime interval didn't slow the hosts' momentum, as the Dustdevils made their first three field goals of the second half. They led by as many as 21 with 15:31 left in the game, and CMU never cut the lead to single digits.

Threatt was a bright spot, leading all scorers with 24 points on 8 of 13 shooting. Threatt excelled at getting to the line, where he made 7 of 12 free-throw attempts. Trevor Baskin (13) and Christopher Spiller (12) were the other Mavs in double figures. Owen Koonce had nine rebounds, a season-high and his most since his career-high 10 in last year's season opener against West Texas A&M.

True freshman Elijah Knudsen played 13 minutes and shot 2 of 4 from three-point range to collect the first six points of his collegiate career.

Next up for CMU is a holiday weekend back at Brownson, the Holiday Inn – Airport Thanksgiving Classic. The Mavs will play Northern New Mexico on Friday, Nov. 25 at 3 p.m., then play Simon Fraser on Saturday, Nov. 26, also at 3 p.m. Western Colorado will also be in town to play both opponents in reverse order.