GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Colorado Mesa fell short in a battle of top-10 teams, suffering its first RMAC loss of the season to No. 8 Fort Lewis by an 87-79 score before a standing-room only crowd of 2,174 at the Blizzard in Brownson, presented by Coca-Cola.
The No. 7-ranked Mavericks fall to 15-3 on the season, with all three of those losses coming to top 10 opponents (No. 1 West Texas A&M, No. 4 DBU and No. 8 Fort Lewis). The Mavericks and Skyhawks are now even at 11-1 in the RMAC, a half-game behind No. 14 Colorado School of Mines, which has won 14 games in a row but needs to play CMU and Fort Lewis three more times.
The game was competitive with 16 lead changes and six ties, but the Skyhawks got more shots to fall down the stretch, particularly from deep. Colorado Mesa shot 40 percent from three in the first half, but just 22 percent (5-22) after halftime. By contrast, the Skyhawks made 8 of 11 three-point attempts in the second half and shot 54 percent from behind the arc for the game.
Mac Riniker had a fantastic night in the loss, finishing with a game-high 28 points and shooting 11 of 12 from the field to go with five rebounds, a block and a steal.
Trevor Baskin was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and led the team with nine rebounds and five assists.
Baskin had 13 points alongside
Christopher Speller, who shot 5 of 8 from the field and 2 of 4 from three.
Owen Koonce finished with 10 points as the final Maverick in double figures.
The Mavericks were hurt by 22 turnovers, only forcing 11 turnovers of Fort Lewis. The Skyhawks outshot Colorado Mesa in all three phases, finishing at 53 percent from the field, 55 percent from three and 82 percent from the line compared to CMU's 48 percent from the field, 31 percent from three and 73 percent from the stripe.
The loss snapped several streaks for the Mavericks, who had won seven in a row overall, eight in a row at home in Brownson Arena and 20 RMAC conference games in a row prior to tonight's loss.
Colorado Mesa is in the unique portion of its schedule, playing its geographical rivals. The Mavs not have a game this Saturday. Instead, CMU next plays on Tuesday on the road at Western Colorado before its next home date on Thursday against Westminster. After next weekend, the Mavericks will return to their typical Friday/Saturday weekly schedule.
