GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Dillon Pless intercepted a Westminster pass with a minute left in overtime, then got the ball back 50 seconds later for the game-winning sudden-death goal as Colorado Mesa emerged with a razor-thin overtime victory over its longtime RMAC rivals in CMU's home opener in Grand Junction.

In a massive regular season matchup between the two teams which have met for every RMAC Tournament championship in the history of the conference, No. 17 Colorado Mesa emerged victorious against No. 20 Westminster thanks to Pless's overtime heroics.

The Mavericks survived a late Westminster charge, as the visiting Griffins scored four of the last six goals in regulation to tie the score and force an extra period, the third time that these two programs have played an overtime game. The Mavs improve to 5-3 overall and remain undefeated in RMAC play at 2-0 in conference.

Hunter Holcomb finished with a team-high four goals and six points in the victory while Pless and Micah Payton had two goals apiece. Westminster received a seven-point night from Joseph Celentano (two goals, five assists) and hat tricks from Jacob Mendez and Tate Craig.

Colorado Mesa earned the win despite getting trounced in the face-off circle. Westminster won 20 out of 28 draws, including the all-important face-off in overtime. The Mavericks were sound defensively, as Westminster committed 26 turnovers while CMU goalie Luke Parrish made 11 saves. Colorado Mesa also did a better job getting to loose balls, scooping 42 ground balls to Westminster's 33.

Defenses stood tall early on in the contest, with neither team finding the net until Micah Payton scored off an assist from Holcomb to put the Mavs on the board just over six minutes in. Westminster took the lead with a pair of goals before CMU's Braden Lowe equalized with 6:16 left in the first quarter.

The first big momentum swing came at the end of the first period, when Levi McCoy scored with an assist from Philip Petersen to put the Mavericks up 3-2 with just 15 seconds left in the opening quarter. Dylan Checketts won the ensuing faceoff and quickly got the ball back down towards Westminster's cage, allowing Hunter Holcomb to beat the buzzer with a goal and give CMU a two-goal lead after 15 minutes.

The Mavericks built a three-goal lead, their largest of the match, going up 7-4 with 6:09 to play in the first half after Ethan Points scored. Colorado Mesa also scored four goals in a eight-minute span during the third quarter after Westminster briefly took the lead after halftime, as the Mavericks led 11-9 heading into the final quarter.

Westminster rallied in the fourth, with Tate Craig scoring all three goals in the fourth period for the Griffins. Hunter Holcomb notched his fourth goal of the game for CMU to give the Mavericks a 12-11 advantage with 1:48 to play, but Craig's third goal tied things up with 1:10 to play.

In overtime, Westminster won the opening faceoff, but turned it over. Marcus Trujillo led a transition opportunity and dropped the ball off to a trailing Caden Hathaway, whose blazing shot on goal was saved by Westminster goalie Christain Jones. Westminster went back to the well, finding a cutting Craig for a point-blank shot, but Parrish denied Craig by making the save with the handle of his stick.

Jones made his second save of the overtime period with 1:07 left, but Jones attempted to loft a high, arcing pass over the CMU defense on the clear, and Pless was able to backtrack and intercept the pass, giving CMU another offensive opportunity. Braden Lowe controlled the ball behind the goal and found a cutting Pless in front of the net before the sophomore buried it over Jones's left shoulder for his ninth goal of the season. That set off raucous celebrations from the CMU bench, who rushed the field with about equal numbers of Mavericks mobbing Pless in the offensive end and Parrish in the defensive end.

The win is CMU's fifth consecutive against Westminster and the second win in that five-game streak by just a single goal. The Mavericks are in action next weekend at home, facing CSU Pueblo on Thursday and Adams State on Saturday.