GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – A 24-point, 13-rebound performance from
Trevor Baskin and timely buckets down the stretch helped Colorado Mesa hold off a feisty New Mexico Highlands squad with an 87-79 win.
Baskin was one of five Mavericks in double figures as the Mavericks spread the ball around to counteract New Mexico Highlands guard Dante Moses's 35-point night.
Christopher Speller had a season-high 16 points to go along with eight rebounds and three steals, while
Blaise Threatt (12 points),
Reece Johnson (10) and
Isaac Jessup (10) also chipped in.
Baskin secured his sixth double-double of the season and achieved the mark for the second straight game. The redshirt sophomore also continued an eventful couple of weeks by going from needing stitches on his face to needing stitches on his jersey. Finally healed from the black eye he suffered against Regis, Baskin's normal white No. 22 jersey was nearly ripped in half during a physical play under the basket early in the game, leading the forward to sport No. 21 for the rest of the game.
The new number worked pretty well as Baskin shot 8 of 16 from the field, 3 of 4 from three and 5 of 6 from the line. Baskin also tallied five offensive boards and a sizable contribution to CMU's 18 second chance points.
Colorado Mesa took a 15-point lead into halftime, but the Cowboys battled back to tie the score at 71-71 with 4:10 left to play. But like they have so many times this season when teams whittle away at a CMU lead, the Mavericks answered with a run of their own to put the game out of reach.
After the score was tied for the first time in the game since 4-4, the Mavericks ripped off a 9-2 run by draining three-pointers on three straight possessions – two from Baskin and one from Speller. Baskin and
Blaise Threatt then combined to make five free throws and CMU beat the full-court press for a wide open
Owen Koonce dunk to arrive at the final margin.
The Cowboys provided plenty of unique challenges – physical, hard-nosed play, an aggressive box-and-one defense designed to deny Threatt the basketball and the scoring ability of Moses, who entered the game ranking third in Division II with 24 points per game and certainly improved that average. The guard's 35 points were the most scored by an opposing player against CMU this season, but it was only the fourth-highest single game point total of the RMAC season for Moses.
With the win, Colorado Mesa improves to 21-4 overall and 16-3 in RMAC play. The Mavs have won 16 of their past 17 games. The Mavs are tied for second place in the RMAC with Black Hills State but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Yellow Jackets. Both teams are a game behind 17-2 Fort Lewis, which defeated Black Hills for the second time on Friday night.
The Mavericks will continue down the home stretch of the regular season Saturday night, taking on CSU Pueblo at 7 p.m. from Brownson Arena. The ThunderWolves are 7-12 in RMAC play and suffered an 87-49 loss to Westminster on Friday night.
