GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Throughout the 2023-24 season, Colorado Mesa has gotten out to slow starts before coming out on fire in the second half. On Friday night against UCCS, the Mavs pushed their luck farther than ever before but still came out with the win.

The No. 15-ranked Mavericks trailed by 13 points at halftime but outscored the visitors 40-19 in the second half, rallying for a 70-62 win over UCCS in the RMAC home opener at Brownson Arena. Owen Koonce had 15 points to lead the Mavs while Reece Johnson and Trevor Baskin had 12 points apiece.

Colorado Mesa won despite shooting just 20 percent (7-35) from three-point range and missing 17 of their first 18 attempts as a team from behind the arc. UCCS couldn't miss in the first half, shooting 60 percent from the field, but that percentage dropped to just 25 percent (6-24) after halftime as the Mavericks regained their defensive focus and clamped down.

The Mavs improve to 3-0 in the RMAC with the victory and 6-1 overall. They have won six straight games since dropping the opening game of the season to Dallas Baptist, who are now ranked No. 4 in the nation. UCCS falls to 4-5 overall and 0-3 in the RMAC with the loss.

Nothing went right for the Mavs in the first half, as UCCS shot 60 percent both overall (15-25) and from behind the arc (6-10) while the Mavs committed eight turnovers and had a three-point shooting percentage in the single digits until Aidan Kuhl hit back-to-back threes in the half's final 90 seconds to make CMU 3-for-20 from behind the arc in the first half, as UCCS headed to halftime up 43-30.

Out of the locker room, however, the Mavericks wasted no time erasing the double-digit deficit. The Mavs went on an 11-2 run in the opening four minutes of the second half and had the Mountain Lion lead trimmed to four by the first media timeout. They took the lead for the first time in the second half off back-to-back buckets from Michael McCurry, who forced a steal and a fast break dunk to cut the lead to one and then converted a layup after another UCCS turnover to give CMU a 47-46 lead with 13:07 to play.

The Mavs kept their foot on the gas and eventually led by as many as 12 in the second half. Koonce had all 15 of his points in the second half, shooting 6 of 9 from the field and 3 of 5 from deep after halftime. Baskin had eight points and seven rebounds in the second half, the vast majority of his game total of 12 points and eight boards.

Colorado Mesa got contributions from up and down the rotation. Reece Johnson had an efficient night, shooting 5 of 6 from the field and making both of his three-point attempts while adding five rebounds and four assists. Kuhl, a Fort Collins native who transferred to CMU this year after a season at South Alabama, had his finest performance in a Maverick uniform with 10 points, three rebounds, a block and a steal in 12 minutes off the bench. Sam Goulet had two points, two rebounds and two blocks.

The Mavericks will be back in their home gym Saturday night against Regis, which defeated Westminster 92-83 Friday night to improve to 5-3 overall and 2-1 in the RMAC. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday after the conclusion of the women's game.