CANYON, Texas – Colorado Mesa's 2024 season has been defined by the three. So, what other way for the Mavericks to advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament than by hitting a key three-pointer to ensure that the third time would in fact be the charm against an RMAC rival?

Isaac Jessup hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 35 seconds remaining to lift No. 2 seed Colorado Mesa over No. 3 seed Fort Lewis, avenging two earlier losses to FLC and sending the Mavericks into the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history with an 85-80 win over the Skyhawks.

Jessup's three-pointer was the last of 19 lead changes in a heavyweight fight of a second round NCAA Tournament matchup between two teams which entered the game ranked fifth and sixth in the nation. Owen Koonce and Christopher Speller each hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.

The Mavericks improve to 29-4 this season and have a chance for the first 30-win season in program history with a win Tuesday night at 6 p.m. (MT) in the South Central regional championship, against top seed and hosts West Texas A&M. At stake on Tuesday night will be a berth in the Division II Elite Eight in Evansville, Indiana, which would be the program's first.

All five starters scored in double figures for Colorado Mesa, which has now won multiple NCAA Tournament games in a season for just the second time. Owen Koonce scored a game-high 20 points while shooting 8 of 12 from the field for CMU and had a key block late in the game. RMAC Player of the Year Trevor Baskin finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double in CMU's five postseason games.

Jessup finished with 17 points, shooting 5 of 15 from behind the arc, while Christopher Speller had 14 points, eight rebounds and a team-high seven assists. Reece Johnson finished with 12 points, all of which came from beyond the arc as Johnson hit 4 of 5 three-point attempts.

The Mavericks shot 46 percent from the field (28-61), 34 percent from three (12-35) and 74 percent from the line (17-23). Fort Lewis also shot 46 percent from the field (27-59) but only managed to hit 25 percent of its three-point attempts (5-20). Colorado Mesa outrebounded Fort Lewis 37-31 and racked up 17 assists compared to just eight for the Skyhawks.

There were no secrets between the two opponents as Colorado Mesa and Fort Lewis met for the third time this season and second time in an eight-day span. Both teams shot the lights out to begin the game as Fort Lewis made five of its first six total shots while CMU made five of its first seven three-pointers. Jessup made back-to-back three-pointers to stake the Mavericks out to a 22-11 lead just six minutes into the contest.

Just like in the RMAC Tournament finals when CMU jumped out to an early lead, however, Fort Lewis grew stronger as the game went on. An 11-4 run for Fort Lewis over a four-minute span late in the first half cut the CMU lead to three points before Christopher Speller drove the length of the court and sunk a teardrop floater to beat the first-half buzzer and send the Mavs to the locker room up by five, 43-38.

The Skyhawks continued to find shots in the paint as the second half began and took the lead for the first time in the second half with 13:18 remaining when a Samier Kinsler layup made it 54-53, FLC. That would be the first of 12 second half lead changes as the two teams traded punches back and forth. The Skyhawks went on an 10-1 run to take their largest lead of the second half at 66-59 with 10:35 left to play.

The lead continued to see-saw. The Mavericks turned to Christopher Speller for three consecutive buckets in the paint, the last two of which gave Colorado Mesa one-point leads around a Fort Lewis jumper. A Trevor Baskin layup and a 1-for-2 trip to the line from Ethan Menzies gave CMU a two-point lead, which was erased by Fort Lewis when Brayden Carter sunk a pair of free throws to tie the game at 74-74.

That's when Jessup took over. The redshirt junior, who was 3-for-12 on three-point attempts at this stage, hit a triple to put the Mavs up by three with 2:14 remaining. But RMAC tournament MVP Obi Agbim scored six consecutive points for Fort Lewis to put the Skyhawks up two, 80-78 with under a minute to go.

The Mavericks got the ball to Baskin, who posted up with his back to the basket and drew a double-team. Baskin dished across his body to an open Jessup, who calmly sunk his fifth three-pointer of the game to give the Mavericks the lead. On the other end, Agbim drove down the court and had his layup attempt blocked by Koonce, which was CMU's only blocked shot of the day. Koonce corralled the rebound and was fouled, hitting both at the line.

Fort Lewis had a game-tying look from distance, but it missed and Christopher Speller came down with his eighth rebound, hitting two free throws at the other end to provide the final margin of victory.

Colorado Mesa and West Texas A&M have already played during the regular season, with WTA&M coming away with an 81-66 victory in a neutral-site clash in Las Vegas, Nevada. This game will be played in the Buffs' home gym. In the regular season matchup, CMU only shot 4-for-35 from three-point range, their worst single-game performance by a large margin. Trevor Baskin went off for 29 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 11 of 23 from the field.