AUSTIN, Texas – Isaac Jessup put up a career-high 22 points,
Trevor Baskin had a 24-point, 13-rebound double-double and Colorado Mesa dominated the second half to defeat St. Edward's 89-73 for its first victory of the 2023-24 season.
The Mavs will exit the D2 Conference Challenge with a 1-1 record and a potentially key head-to-head win over the Hilltoppers, who were picked third in the Lone Star Conference's preseason poll. The Mavericks have three more games on the schedule against Lone Star teams this season, two of which will come next weekend as the Mavs play at Brownson Arena for the first time.
The Mavericks shot 51.6 percent from the field, 40 percent from three-point range and 73.3 percent from the free throw line. The Mavs flipped the script after halftime, outscoring St. Edward's 50-31 in the second half. This is the third straight season in which CMU has beaten St. Edward's in the Conference Challenge, which also are the only three wins over St. Edward's in program history out of nine attempts.
Mac Riniker also had 18 points for CMU, along with seven rebounds, four steals and a block.
Owen Koonce followed up his career-high in points last night with a nine-point effort against the Hilltoppers and two steals. But while the Maverick offense Friday was incredibly balanced with five players in double figures, CMU rode their two hot hands to victory in this one.
Jessup not only set a new career-high in points, passing a 15-point effort from October 19, 2021 against Washington Adventist, but also set career highs in field goal attempts and three-point attempts. Jessup shot 8 of 14 from the field and 6 of 11 from beyond the arc, finishing with half of CMU's made threes and over a third of the team's three-point attempts for the game.
The 16-point margin of victory was the largest lead of the game for either team, as the final score does not match how back-and-forth much of the game was. Neither team led by more than five points at any point in the first half, and the entire game featured 12 ties and 17 lead changes between the two teams. Colorado Mesa trailed at halftime for the second straight game to open the season, albeit just by a three-point margin at 42-39.
St. Edward's had the lead for the final time with 15:18 to play after Sean Elkinton, who recorded 27 points and 13 rebounds in the loss, hit two free throws to give the Hilltoppers a 52-51 lead.
Michael McCurry put the Mavs back on top with a three-pointer with 14:54 left. With the score tied at 56-56 moments later, Riniker took over to give the Mavs the lead for good.
The reigning RMAC Defensive Player of the Year forced steals on back-to-back possessions and converted them to baskets on the other end. On the first, he was fouled on the shot and hit the free throw for a three-point play before collecting another turnover and eventually hitting a jumper in the paint.
The Mavericks converted steals into baskets all game long.
Trevor Baskin came up with a steal and a fastbreak basket to push the lead to nine points with just under five minutes left and
Reece Johnson's steal and score pushed the CMU advantage to double digits, 79-68, with 2:20 remaining. Jessup hit his sixth three-pointer of the day to open up a 12-point lead, and the Mavericks reached the final 16-point margin after
Mac Riniker hit a three with the shot clock winding down on the Mavs' final possession.
Colorado Mesa returns home next weekend to face Texas A&M-Kingsville on Friday, November 17 and Texas A&M International the following night. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m.
