Denver, Colo. - The Colorado Mesa University Men's Basketball Team saw a tight game with the Rangers of Regis University come to within one point in the final seconds but ultimately fall short as the Mavericks would suffer their third straight loss in a 73-70 defeat at Regis Fieldhouse.
The Mavericks are still searching for their first win in conference play as they move to 4-5 on the year and 0-3 in the RMAC. Regis improves to 5-4 overall and stays undefeated in conference play at 3-0.
Tonight's game was the Mavs' closest game they have had yet in conference, with their other two losses coming by margins of five points (vs. UCCS) and 10 points (vs. CCU).
In light of the loss, Colorado Mesa had two different players record career highs in the game from both Will Mortimore and Mason Honeyman. Mortimore scored 18 points in the game with Honeyman dropping 17 for each of their new career highs in points.
Mortimore also grabbed 11 rebounds in the loss for his and the team's second double-double of the season.
Ty Allred also scored 17 points in the game to be the Mavs' third player in double digits.
The trio shot a combined 19-35 to lead the team that shot just 41.3% from the field. From beyond the arc, CMU struggled as they were only 4-19 for 21.1%. Allred made three three-pointers to lead the team.
In contrast, Regis shot 13-36 from three-point range for 36.1%.
The Rangers were led by a trio of players to also score in double figures as Kobe Sanders finished with 15 points and both Eddy Egun and Jalen Brown finished with 13. The three were responsible for nine of the team's three pointers.
Through roughly eight minutes into the game, both teams would go back and forth with the lead, until Regis would make their first half push that never saw them lose the lead again.
The Rangers held the lead for 31:55 minutes of the game and led at halftime by 11 points thanks to a 7-0 run in the final minute and a half of the first period.
The Mavs answered back in the second half as they outscored the Rangers 45-37. CMU trailed by as much as 12 points in the half but kept the game within 10 points for the majority of the time.
The Mavs used an 11-1 run in the final four minutes to make their comeback attempt and were presented with an opportunity to win the game in the final seconds, but after a contested miss from Harvey White led to the clock having less than five seconds left the Mavs were forced to foul, leading to two Regis free throws and the eventual three-point loss.
The Mavs will look to bounce back and hopefully get their first conference win on Saturday now when they head to Golden to finish their weekend against #10 Colorado School of Mines. Game time is set for 3 p.m. at Lockridge Arena on Saturday following the conclusion of the Women's Game. Streaming can be found on the RMAC Network with live stats available as well.
