Lubbock, Texas. – Colorado Mesa men's basketball continues to have a historic season. Continuing to build on the single-season wins record, they upended top-seed and host Lubbock Christian in Sunday's semifinal to make their first trip to the Sweet 16. Their two wins thus far in the NCAA Tournament also a program best.
Out of the 8-team bracket, six of the teams came out of the Lone Star Conference, the other two – Colorado Mesa and Black Hills State out of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The two RMAC schools left standing and meet for the third time this season in Tuesday's championship.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Rip Griffin Center.
Matchup History
The two teams met twice during the regular season, each claiming a win on the others home court.
Black Hills outlasted CMU in overtime in the first meeting back on December 10, 75-73. The Mavericks however would travel up to Spearfish and spoil the
Yellowjackets undefeated RMAC streak with an 81-71 triumph.
In the overall series, the Mavs hold a 10-8 advantage dating back to the first meeting in 2012.
By the Numbers
| Colorado Mesa |
Stat |
Black Hills State |
| 76.9 |
Points Per Game |
79.9 |
| 10.0 (66.9 Opp.) |
Scoring Margin |
5.0 (74.9 Opp.) |
48.8
35.2 |
Field Goal Percentage
3 PT Percentage |
50.4
37.3 |
34.4
13.7 |
Rebounds Per Game
Assists |
34.6
13.4 |
| 17.9 |
Points off Turnovers |
12.8 |
| 8.1 |
Steals Per Game |
6.2 |
| 4.4 |
Blocks Per Game |
2.9 |
Getting There
Earning the No. 4 seed, the Mavericks matched up with the fifth seed Texas A&M Kingsvile. Left with a bad taste after a flat performance in last season's first round game, they answered with a 69-55 win over the Javelinas this time around.
Jared Small led all scorers with 20 points on 7-14 shooting and three, 3-pointers.
Christopher Speller came off the bench hauling in a team best seven rebounds, adding five points, a block and a steal.
Blaise Threatt finished with 14,
Trevor Baskin with 11.
That win set up Sundays semifinal with Lubbock Christian. The No. 1 seed and ranked No. 5 in the recent NABC poll, the Mavericks held the Chaps to nearly 17 points under their season average on the way to a 63-62 victory and a spot in the championship.
Baskin cashed in 18-points and nine rebounds. Small chipped in 15 points, Threatt tallying a double-double with 13-points and 10 rebounds.
Yellowjackets Route
After winning the RMAC Tournament Championship, the Yellowjackets earned the automatic bid and the No. 3 seed in the regional tournament.
They would draw sixth seeded Dallas Baptist in the opening round. Trailing after the first half, their used a 49-39 edge in the second to down the Patriots 76-68 to advance. Joel Scott led all scorers with 25 points, boarding nine. He led four players in double-figures for the Yellowjackets.
They met up with No. 2 seed West Texas A&M in their respective semifinal, capturing a 91-77 victory to continue their post season run. 50 of the team points were scored in the paint, as they finished with a 61 percent clip from the field.
Sindou Cisse, Sava Dukic and Scott all collected 20-points on the night, Adam Moussa adding 13 and four assists.
