Grand Junction, Colo. – Entering the last set of games for the regular season, Colorado Mesa (18-8, 12-5 RMAC) men's basketball heads to Adams State (10-11, 6-9 RMAC) this Friday for their only conference match of the week. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Plachy Hall.

Maverick fans can stream the game and follow live stats at the cmumavericks.com

Run It Back
Splitting time on the road and at home last week, the Mavericks extended their win-streak to three following victories over Westminster and South Dakota Mines.
In both games the Mavericks used 11, 3-pointers on their way to outscoring opponents by double-digit margins.

Trevor Baskin, Reece Johnson and Jared Small all averaged 11-points throughout the 2-0 week, Small and Johnson credited with 4, 3-point shots each. Mac Riniker handled the defensive efforts with 17 rebounds (8.5 avg.), to go along with a block and five steals.

Sharp Shooters
Hitting shots at a 48.9 clip, the Mavericks rank amongst the top-3 offenses in the conference. On 12 occasions they have knocked down over 50-percent of their shots, being held under 40-percent just seven times.

As the team rotates through lineups, it is a balanced offense that has allowed multiple players to contribute on any given night. Baskin is at the forefront of the team's scoring output, averaging 13.4 points on a 57.1 field goal percentage. Close behind is Riniker who has been a consistent starter, averaging 10.7 points on a 61.5 clip.

Access Denied
The Mavericks average 4.9 blocks per game, for an 11^th best mark, their 123 total blocks ranking second in all of Division II.

Baskin has racked up 38 thus far, etching his name into the top-10 season record books. That number ties Colorado Mesa great Ryan Stephen who denied 38 shots in 2014.

3-Point Presence
219. That is how many 3-pointers Colorado Mesa has made so far this season. That number gives them the top-spot in the conference, those shots falling at a 36.3 clip.

Jared Small is credited with 47 of those buckets, not far behind is Johnson with 39. In fact, all players who have recorded minutes this season, have hit a shot from beyond the arc.

Where We Stand
The Mavericks sit in the No. 3 spot in the current conference standings, giving them a strong chance to host a first-round matchup for the upcoming RMAC Tournament. With one more win over Colorado School of Mines, the Orediggers are riding an 8-game win streak in the second half of conference play.

Black Hills State remains at the top of the standings at 14-2, suffering their second loss to CSU Pueblo last weekend. Regis who was unbeaten until meeting the Mavericks earlier in the year, have loss two straight but maintain the No. 2 spot.

Scouting the Grizzlies
Sitting in 9^th in the current RMAC standings, Adams State is vying for a spot in the tournament sitting just outside the top-8 who qualify.

A few weeks back they took Regis into overtime, splitting last weekend's games – coming off a slim 59-58 win over Chadron to snap a 3-game skid.
Rylan O'Brien is the team's go-to averaging 14.9 points, on a 43.2 percentage. Malik Moore averages 6.2 rebounds, ranking in the top-10 in the RMAC.

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.