GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Led by Mac Riniker's career scoring night, the No. 14 Colorado Mesa men's basketball team is heading into an extended Thanksgiving break with a 3-1 record against South Central Region opponents.
The Mavericks, with Riniker scoring a career-high 30 points, outlasted Texas A&M International 77-73 on Saturday night (Nov. 18), their final game before RMAC play begins on Dec. 1.
Riniker, last season's RMAC Defensive Player of the Year, has used CMU's new up-tempo offense to his advantage, averaging 20.3 points a game through the first two weekends.
Against the Dustdevils, Riniker went 7 of 10 from the field, hit two of four 3-pointers and was a perfect 14 for 14 at the free-throw line, two off the program record and the most since Ryan Stephan made 14 in a game in 2006.
"That is probably the most impressive thing I've done in a while, for sure," Riniker said of his night at the line. "I know for sure tonight, my teammates were definitely getting me open on the cuts and the backdoor cuts. It seemed like every time I was making a cut, somebody was hitting me and it just worked out that it was my night tonight. It's pretty awesome."
Colorado Mesa built a 13-point lead in the first half, going up 24-11 when Elijah Knudsen buried a 3-pointer after an International turnover with 7:46 to play. But the Dustdevils, who lost at Western Colorado on Friday night, scrapped back to make it a one-point game at the half, with CMU holding a 34-33 advantage.
They rallied behind eight first-half offensive rebounds, which led to only five second-chance points, but they hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored after a couple of CMU's nine first-half turnovers.
There were eight lead changes in the second half, but after Trevor Baskin grabbed an offensive rebound and found Isaac Jessup, Owen Koonce made a terrific backdoor cut for the pass and threw down a dunk, putting CMU up 54-53 with 10:17 to play. The game was tied twice shortly after that but the Mavericks never fell behind.
"We weren't necessarily able to play the style that we wanted to, they did a great job boxing out and really getting back in transition and limited a lot of the things we're wanting to do," CMU coach Mike DeGeorge said. "We really had to earn it in the half-court. I was proud of how hard we competed to secure the victory down the stretch."
Baskin, who finished with 17 points and led CMU with four assists and five rebounds, found seams in the Dustdevils' defense and attacked the rim, Riniker scored 19 second-half points, including eight free throws, and Jessup iced it with a layup after the Mavs broke the press with 38 seconds remaining.
That came after a shot clock violation, with the Mavericks challenging two shots in the paint that never got to the rim.
Once again the Mavericks shot better in the second half than the first, finishing the game shooting 50%. The Dustdevils, who substituted liberally on their second night playing at altitude, hit some tough shots down the stretch and shot 44% from the field.
Texas A&M International (3-2) out-rebounded CMU 35-20 and had a 16-4 advantage on the offensive boards, but only scored eight more second-chance points than the Mavericks, 12-4. On the fast break, though, CMU had a 25-7 edge.
Without a tournament over Thanksgiving, DeGeorge is giving the Mavericks the week off before they begin preparation to play conference foes Colorado School of Mines and Metro State on the road to open the RMAC season.
"We've got a veteran team and I know they're going to do a good job over break, and the mental rest will be good for them," DeGeorge said. "They're a very committed group and sometimes we feel like we have to kick them out of the gym because they overdo it."
