GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Colorado Mesa men's basketball returns home for the first time in three weeks, facing a busy Chadron State program and a Colorado Christian team making its second trip of the year to Grand Junction.

The Mavericks have won five in a row, with four of those wins coming on the road. In its first action since the holiday break last weekend, CMU topped CSU Pueblo 67-60 on Friday and New Mexico Highlands 84-53 on Saturday.

Blaise Threatt led the way with 16 points in both games. He averaged nine rebounds and 2.5 steals per game, earning recognition from the conference as the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week.

RECAPS: CSU Pueblo | New Mexico Highlands

At 5-2 in the RMAC, the Mavericks are in a three-way tie for fourth in the conference standings with UCCS and Chadron State, Friday's opponent. Because of a shifting schedule caused by weather delays, the game against CMU will be Chadron State's fourth game in seven days and third road game in five days.

Both Friday's game and Saturday's game against Colorado Christian will tip off at 7:30 p.m. They will be broadcast live on the RMAC Network and on 1340 AM/101.1 FM The Team radio in Grand Junction.

Doing It All
Blaise Threatt leads the Mavericks in scoring with 16.5 points per game this season and was the team's leading scorer with 16 points in both games last weekend. But it was the defensive side of the ball where Threatt earned conference-wide recognition.  

Threatt was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week by the conference office on Monday after averaging nine rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. He collected three steals in last Friday's win over CSU Pueblo and then dominated Saturday's matchup with New Mexico Highlands, collecting 13 rebounds, all of which were defensive boards.

Threatt ranks sixth in the RMAC in scoring, ninth in rebounding at seven per game and sixth in assists at 3.7 per game while leading the RMAC and ranking 17^th nationally with 2.4 steals per game. He leads the team in points, assists and steals and has just 0.2 rebounds per game less than teammate Trevor Baskin.

Threatt remains the only player in the RMAC to rank in the conference's top 10 in points, rebounds and assists.

Swish Swish
The Mavericks shot the ball well in both games last week. Against CSU Pueblo, the Mavs shot 51 percent from the floor and 34 percent from three-point range, including 42 percent in the second half to secure a seven-point win. In the 31-point win over New Mexico Highlands, CMU shot 59 percent from the field and 46 percent from deep.   

Colorado Mesa has the third-highest field goal percentage in the RMAC, shooting .485 for the season. Individually, Trevor Baskin (.558) and Blaise Threatt (.523) rank sixth and 10^th, respectively, in the conference. The Mavericks have the fifth-highest three-point percentage in the league at .382.

It's All About The Ball
The Mavericks have excelled at pulling down rebounds and limiting the opponent's second chance opportunities this season, and it hasn't been more apparent than on Saturday, when CMU outrebounded New Mexico Highlands 44-16. The Mavericks have the second-highest rebounding margin in the RMAC and 24^th highest in the nation at +7.4, meaning CMU averages 7.4 more rebounds per game than its opponents. Chadron State, which will enter Brownson Arena on Friday, leads the conference at +7.8, however.

Although Colorado Mesa's 34.5 rebounds per game is only the ninth-highest in the RMAC, the Mavericks only allow opposing teams to grab 27.2 rebounds per game, the best mark in the conference by nearly three rebounds. By making a large percentage of their own shots and rebounding nearly all the opposition's misses, the Mavericks have been able to control the pace of games during their five-game win streak and 10-3 start to the season.

Colorado Mesa also gains control of the ball by forcing the most steals in the conference at 8.7 per game. Individually, Blaise Threatt leads the conference with 2.4 per game while Mac Riniker ranks third with 1.8 per game.

Home Court Advantage
The Colorado Mesa men's basketball team and the Herd of Maverick fans have consistently made Brownson Arena a tough place for opponents to play.

The Mavs are 5-2 at home so far this season and 49-10 at home during Coach Mike DeGeorge's tenure. So far this season, the Mavericks rank fourth in the RMAC in average home attendance at 821 fans per game.

Brownson Arena has been especially unkind to Chadron State, as Colorado Mesa is 25-1 all-time against the Eagles at home.

About Chadron State
The Chadron State Eagles, located in Chadron, Nebraska, are exceeding expectations with their hot start to conference play. Picked to finish 14^th out of 15 schools in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Eagles are off to a 5-2 start in the RMAC and sit at 8-5 overall.

The game will be a big litmus test for Chadron State, as the tilt with CMU will be the first time Chadron has played any of the RMAC's four teams to be nationally ranked at some point this season. The Eagles' two RMAC losses have come to Colorado Christian in overtime on December 7 and a 28-point loss to UCCS on Tuesday.

Chadron State will also be substantially less rested than the Mavericks on Friday. Weather forced Chadron's December 16-17 games to be postponed and played at midweek this week. After topping MSU Denver at home last Saturday on New Year's Eve, the Eagles hit the road and played Regis on Monday (winning 74-64) and UCCS on Tuesday, and still have road games coming up on Friday and Saturday this weekend.

Junior forward Josh Robinson has stood out for the Eagles, ranking third in the RMAC and 32^nd nationally with nine rebounds per game while also scoring 12.1 points per game. Although he stands at 6-foot-6, Robinson loves to work inside, shooting 60 percent from the field all year and only attempting one three-pointer. Robinson opened the RMAC season with a streak of four straight double-doubles.

Junior guard Isaiah Wyatt leads the Eagles with 16 points per game, good for eighth in the conference. Before being held to six points against UCCS, Wyatt had scored at least double figures in 12 straight games to start the season.

Head Coach Shane Paben is in his third year at Chadron State. In his first year in 2020-21, Paben led Chadron State to the RMAC Tournament for the first time since 2011-12. He went 10-17 in his second year. Prior to taking over the Eagles, Paben turned Bellevue University in Bellevue, Nebraska into an NAIA powerhouse, taking the Bruins to 10 straight NAIA national tournaments. He reached the NAIA Sweet 16 on seven occasions and the NAIA Final Four (known as the Fab Four) twice. Paben has also coached high school basketball in both Nebraska and Iowa and played both basketball and tennis at Nebraska Wesleyan University.

About Colorado Christian
Colorado Christian enters the week with a 6-7 overall record, but the Cougars are only 2-5 in the RMAC. The Cougars have RMAC wins over Chadron State in overtime and Western Colorado. In its only game last weekend, CCU lost to nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines 77-63, its third consecutive defeat.

Colorado Christian was in Grand Junction earlier this year to participate in the D2 Conference Challenge presented by Holiday Inn – Airport, alongside CMU and Lone Star schools Dallas Baptist and St. Edward's. The Cougars fell 89-60 to DBU and 88-71 to St. Edward's, with both games played at Brownson Arena.

Colorado Christian is scoring 71.6 points per game and allowing 71.4 points per game. Junior guard Jason Gallant, a transfer from the Division I University of San Diego, leads CCU with 13.8 points per game. He has topped 20 points four times this season, including in three straight games from December 10-17. Gallant also leads the team with 3.3 assists per game.

DJ McDonald also provides scoring punch for the Cougars, averaging 13.2 points per game, ranking sixth in the RMAC in three-pointers per game (2.6) and 10^th among qualifying players in three-point percentage (.333). The Cougars are enjoying a strong freshman season from forward Maro Egodotaye, who is averaging 4.8 rebounds per game while accumulating 10 steals and 12 blocks.

Liam Simmons is in his third season as the CCU head coach. A native of Australia, Simmons most recently coached the Franklin Bulls in New Zealand's National Basketball League. Although Colorado Christian is his first collegiate head coaching job, Simmons has assistant coaching experience at Division I UC Riverside and Division II Southwest Baptist. He is the half brother of NBA All-Star, former No. 1 overall draft pick and current Brooklyn Nets forward Ben Simmons.

Series History
Colorado Mesa is 38-11 all-time against Chadron State. The Mavericks have won 10 straight meetings against the Eagles from February 7, 2015 through December 11, 2021. CMU extended that streak by turning a three-point deficit with 41 seconds left into a three-point victory thanks to a game-tying three from Jared Small and a game-winning three from Georgie Dancer to win 69-66 in that most recent 2021 meeting.

The Mavs and Eagles went to double overtime in December 2020, with Colorado Mesa outscoring Chadron in the second overtime 12-3 to pull away for a 77-68 win. In between the two overtime wins, the Mavericks had a more comfortable 15-point win in March 2021.

The Mavericks also have an extended winning streak against Colorado Christian. CMU holds the overall edge in the series, 25-10, but has won the past nine meetings.

The last time these two teams played, the Mavericks lit the nets on fire with a 69.2 percent shooting percentage in a 101-66 win. Trevor Baskin led with 23 points on 9 of 10 shooting, Mac Riniker had 18 and Blaise Threatt had 16.

In the Polls
Colorado Mesa fell out of the NABC Coaches Poll after receiving three votes in the previous week. Three RMAC teams are ranked – Black Hills State at No. 3, Colorado School of Mines at No. 7 and Fort Lewis at No. 15. Black Hills State received two of 16 national first-place votes.

Colorado Mesa continued to rise in the D2SIDA South Central regional rankings, moving up a spot to No. 5. The RMAC features five of the top six teams in the South Central rankings, as Black Hills State, Mines and Fort Lewis occupy the top three spots with the Mavs at No. 5 and UCCS at No. 6. The Mavs have wins over the No. 6 (UCCS) and No. 10 (Texas A&M-Kingsville) teams in the rankings.

The D2SIDA National Media Poll features Black Hills State at No. 3, Mines at No. 10 and Fort Lewis at No. 17.   

Colorado Mesa finished second in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, trailing only Black Hills State, who received 14 of 15 first-place votes. Colorado School of Mines got the final first-place vote and came third, followed by Fort Lewis and UCCS.

Coach's Corner
Mike DeGeorge has taken the Colorado Mesa program to unprecedented heights since arriving ahead of the 2018-19 season.

He improved the Mavericks from 11 to 19 wins in his first season and crossed the 20-win barrier in 2019-20, leading CMU to an RMAC Tournament Championship from the No. 4 seed. That clinched what would have been the Mavs' first NCAA Tournament Appearance since 2011, but the NCAA Tournament was canceled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020-21 campaign saw the Mavericks start the season with 14 consecutive wins on the way to the RMAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships and finishing the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation. DeGeorge was named RMAC and NCAA West Region Coach of the Year.

In 2021-22, DeGeorge led the Mavericks to within half a game of a regular-season conference championship before leading the team to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time in program history, a run that included a win over regional No. 1 seed Lubbock Christian.

Prior to CMU, DeGeorge was the head coach at Eureka College in Eureka, Ill. from 2000-04, Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa from 2004-09 and Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. for eight seasons from 2010-2018.