GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – After getting a pair of home games this last week, the Colorado Mesa University Men's Basketball Team will head out on the road this upcoming Thursday and Saturday as they head South in pursuit of improving on their conference standings.
The Mavericks will take on a new team to start their week on Thursday when they head to Durango to face off with Fort Lewis College for each of the team's first appearance with each other. Game time is set for 7:30 P.M. on Thursday (Feb. 13) at Whalen Gymnasium.
The team will then head even further south on Saturday when they trek down to Las Vegas, N.M. to take on New Mexico Highlands for the second time this season. The Mavs are set to face the Cowboys on Saturday (Feb. 15) at 3 P.M. at the John A. Wilson Complex.
With only six games remaining in their schedule, this week's games are extra important as the Mavs are currently in seventh place of the conference standings with the top eight seeds making it into the RMAC Tournament.
LAST WEEK'S GAMES
The Mavericks played to another 1-1 week of action in their two RMAC games this past Thursday and Saturday as they defeated MSU Denver in a double overtime thriller before falling just short of another win when they were defeated by Regis University by one point to close the week.
Against the Roadrunners, the Mavs played one of their best games of the season as they took down one of the top teams in the conference while going into two overtimes to get the job done. Trailing by one point at the end of the first half, the Mavs battled in the second half to force overtime and used terrific defense in the first overtime to force yet another. Their offense then erupted in the second overtime period to grab a six-point lead before ultimately winning 89-85 and allow for Head Coach Mike Dunlap to defeat his former team. Ty Allred finished the game with 22 points to lead the team with big man Yaak Yaak recording his first career double double on 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Facing the hottest team in the conference in Regis, whose now won nine games in a row, narrowly defeated the Mavs to end their week. On Saturday, they came up just one point short in a late rally attempt falling 74-73 to the Rangers. The Mavs trailed by 12 with a minute and half left in the game before bringing it to within one point, but with less than two seconds left on the clock the Rangers were able to expire time quickly enough to take the win. Allred led the team in that game again scoring 20 points with Yaak adding 18 points himself.
Following the two games, Yaak was selected as the week 12 RMAC Defensive Player of the Week, which was released on Monday.
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
Slightly improving on their offensive stats after a pair of high scoring games last week, the Mavs are averaging 71.0 points per game currently and from the field are shooting 44.8%.
Ranked fifth in the RMAC, the Mavs are grabbing 35.5 rebounds per game with 12.1 of those coming off offensive rebounds. They are ranked fifth as well in steals with 7.27 per game. They dominate in blocks, leading the conference in that category at 91 total this season for an average of 4.14 per game.
The largest area the team has consistently improved on as well is their ability to limit turnovers as they have rose all the way from 15th to seventh in the turnover margin column.
Doing the scoring for the team this season has been three players who all average in the double digits. Ty Allred is the team leader at 15.0 points per game which also marks him as the eighth highest in the conference. He is accompanied by Will Mortimore (10.5 ppg) and Harvey White (10.5 ppg) as the other two leading scorers.
Allred and Mortimore also serve as the team leaders in rebounding with each grabbing over six a game.
White has proved to be a significant contributor to the team's ability to pass as he totaled 66 assists this season to lead the Mavs.
Yaak Yaak, who has seen much success lately on the court, is still both the team and conference leader in blocks with 41.
ABOUT FORT LEWIS COLLEGE
The Skyhawks have had a similar story to the Mavericks this season as they are another team in the RMAC who features a first-year head coach and a completely reinvented roster. Under the new leadership and slew of transfers the Skyhawks have played to a 15-8 record so far this season, while going 9-5 in the RMAC. They are also currently ranked ninth in the South Central Region poll.
In the team's last five games they have played to a 3-2 record, with their most recent decision being a loss to New Mexico Highlands on Feb. 8 by a score of 84-77.
The Skyhawks are a top five offense in the conference this season averaging 78.5 points per game with the best turnover margin among all teams at 6.43 per game.
They are led offensively by Biko Johnson who is averaging 17.0 points per game and leads the conference. Both Chuol Deng (13.3 ppg) and Tru Allen (12.5 ppg) also average double digit scoring for the team with Deng grabbing 7.5 boards per game to be ranked fifth in the conference.
Despite this being the first time that either team has met, Colorado Mesa is not unfamiliar with Whalen Gymnasium in Durango as they have already played there twice this season when Fort Lewis hosted the Skyhawks Hardwood Classic back in November of 2024.
Following Thursday's game, the Skyhawks will host Western Colorado on Saturday to close their week.
ABOUT N.M. HIGHLANDS
The Cowboys enter this week sporting a 9-13 record but have struggled in conference play as they are only 2-12, which ranks them as the very last team in the standings. Prior to defeating Fort Lewis in their most recent game, they were on a five-game losing streak.
Saturday's game against the Cowboys will be the second time this season the Mavs have faced off with them, with last time Colorado Mesa securing an 87-77 win for their first victory of 2025.
Even though the team has seen difficulties in the win column they are still a top offense in the conference, ranking fourth at 79.2 points per game. They struggle in contrast with their defense as they give up 82.7 points per game to be ranked 14th.
Kenard Richardson has been the team's leading scorer all season with him averaging 16.5 points per game and leading in rebounds at 5.5. Blessin Kimble averages 12.2 points per game with KJ Lamonte adding 10.3 points per game to round out the team's leaders.
Prior to facing the Mavs on Saturday, the Cowboys will host Westminster University on Thursday for their first game of the week.
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
Streaming for all of this week's games will occur on the RMAC Network free of charge with live stats to follow along with. Listening for both games can also be found on THE TEAM 1340 AM.
