GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Colorado Mesa tallied its second RMAC win in as many nights, holding off a late surge from Regis to win 71-65 on Saturday night.

A day after taking the offensive reins with a career-high 21 points, Mac Riniker collected a pair of blocks and three steals, two of which he converted into baskets at the other end to give CMU the lead for good after Regis had momentarily come back from a double-digit deficit in the second half.

Trevor Baskin had a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double, Blaise Threatt had a team-high 17 points and Reece Johnson chipped in 15 points for the Mavericks, who improve to 7-3 with the win and rally back to 2-2 in the RMAC.

The Mavericks dominated in the first half, picking up where they left off from their highly efficient second half on Friday night against UCCS. The Mavs hit 4 of 9 three-pointers and 16 of 26 overall attempts for a 62 percent field-goal percentage in the first 20 minutes.

CMU led wire-to-wire in the first half and used a 13-2 to take a game-high 16-point lead with five minutes to play after Threatt collected a steal and converted a jumper at the other end. The Mavericks entered the locker room with a 13-point advantage, leading 39-26.

Regis responded with a vengeance in the second half, however. The Rangers found success with the second unit, as Regis got 46 of their 65 points from their bench. The Mavericks also failed to make a three-pointer in the second half, missing all seven second-half attempts from deep.

Regis utilized a 15-3 run to fight back to a 47-47 tie with 11:11 left in the game. The teams traded baskets for the next three minutes before a pair of Aidan Sevilla free throws gave the hosts the lead for the first time at 55-53. The Rangers followed with an Eddy Egun three-pointer and CJ Reed jumper to take their largest lead of the game at 60-55 with 6:23 left.

That's when Mac Riniker took over the game. After converting a jump shot to cut the deficit to three, Riniker pulled down a defensive board on the Rangers' ensuing possession, enabling Trevor Baskin to make it a one-point game with a layup at the other end. Then, on consecutive possessions, Riniker came away with a steal and completed a bucket on the fast break. After Regis missed a three-pointer and the ball bounced out-of-bounds for the under-4 media timeout, CMU had a 63-60 lead and all the momentum.

The Mavericks stayed in front from there, with Threatt scoring the final four points of the game from the free-throw line. Threatt went 9-for-9 from the line for the game, the second time Threatt has made nine or more free throws without a miss this season. CMU outscored Regis 46-24 in the paint and 11-2 on the fast break.

Colorado Mesa has only one game next week, a home tilt vs. Adams State on Saturday, December 17 at 6 p.m. That will be CMU's last on-court action before the Christmas break, with the Mavs playing next on December 30.