GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa University men's basketball team returns to action on short rest this week as they look to continue a busy stretch of four games in eight days when they take on Western Colorado and Westminster University.
The Mavericks will travel to Gunnison to face Western Colorado on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. before returning home for the start of a 5-game homestand on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against Westminster.
This will be the first of two times that the Mavs face off with each school this season.
There will be no weekend games as well this week with CMU returning to their usual Thursday, Saturday schedule the rest of this month.
LAST TIME OUT
The Mavs split a RMAC road trip, defeating New Mexico Highlands on Thursday this last week before falling in overtime to Adams State on Saturday.
Harvey White scored a season-high 23 points in Thursday's 94-84 win at New Mexico Highlands where he also matched his career-high with eight assists.
Ty Allred had 21 points and nine rebounds while Cohenj Gonzales scored 19 points off the bench.
The Mavs shot 91.2 percent (31-34) from the free throw line in the victory. This was the most free throws they've made in a game this season.
In Saturday's 102-98 overtime loss, Clayton Jewell recorded his first double-double of his Maverick career with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Allred and Gonzales scored 17 points each while Wes Ball had nine points and nine rebounds.
The Mavs trailed by nine points with seven minutes to go in regulation and tied the game at 93 apiece on an Allred bucket with 19 seconds remaining.
The Mavs shot 52.1 percent (37-71) from the field in Saturday's game but were just 2-for-10 in overtime.
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
The Mavs continue to raise their offensive marks on the season following their recent performances as they now are averaging 78.2 points per game while allowing just 75.6 points to opponents. Their defense ranks in the top five of the conference for the third week in a row with that mark while just eight teams in the RMAC are holding opponents to under 80 points.
From the field the Mavs are shooting 47 percent with a 33.7 percent mark from three-point range and 80 percent from the free throw line. They currently lead the RMAC and rank fifth nationally with their season-long free throw percentage of 80 percent.
CMU is grabbing 37.9 boards per game and holding opponents to 31.4 with them also ranking in the top five of the conference for both categories.
Ty Allred has served as the team's top scorer averaging 18.4 points per game while nearly averaging a double-double this season as he is grabbing 9.1 rebounds per game as well. He has scored in double figures in every game this season but one.
Allred continues to lead the RMAC in rebounding (9.1 per game) as well and is fourth in scoring per game.
Cohenj Gonzales and Mason Honeyman both serve as the other scoring leaders for the Mavs with Gonzales sitting at 12.6 points per game and Honeyman averaging 10.7.
Clayton Jewell sits at 9.6 points per game to just be under the 10-point mark, but has scored in double figures in the last five games.
In total nine different Mavs have recorded double figure scoring performances this season with four of them having at least one 20-point performance as well.
Beyond Allred's rebounding efforts both Jewell and Ball have been other players to grab significant boards this season with Jewell averaging 6.4 and Ball having 4.8.
Allred and Jewell also rank in the top-10 of the conference in blocks.
Harvey White serves as the team's assists leader with 39 total to average nearly three per game.
COACH'S CORNER
Head Coach Mike Dunlap enters his second season leading the Mavs this year after going 19-10 in his debut season in 2024-25.
In his first year with the program, Dunlap had three players named to All-RMAC including returner Ty Allred, who was named to the First Team.
Despite being new to CMU, Dunlap is no stranger to the RMAC as he is currently a member of the conference's hall of fame with him having coached at MSU Denver for nine years and collecting two national championships.
He is a two-time NABC Division II National Coach of the Year.
2025-26 marks Dunlap's 45th season in the coaching ranks with him coaching all the way from Division III to serving as an NBA Head Coach of the Charlotte Bobcats (now known as the Hornets).
Dunlap is joined by assistants, Skyler Burgess and Eli Scott, with this being Burgess's second season as a part of the staff and as the head assistant. Scott enters his first season with the team and was hired prior to the start of the year. He reunites with Dunlap after having previously played for him at Loyola Marymount University.
IN THE POLLS
The Mavs were picked to finish third in this year's RMAC Preseason Poll with them being voted as a top-3 conference team after finishing third in 2024-25.
They earned one first place vote in the voting with them garnishing a total of 158 points. Black Hills State University was picked to win the conference with 183 points while Colorado School of Mines was tabbed second with just nine more points than the Mavs at 167.
The Mavs move up two spots from the previous year's Preseason Poll where they were picked to finish fifth.
In addition to being selected third in the conference, the Mavs also began the year receiving votes in the National American Basketball Coaches Association Preseason Poll.
CMU has faced off with two team's ranked in the NABC poll as well, taking down #3 Dallas Baptist University and falling to #25 Lubbock Christian.
They have also defeated Colorado School of Mines who began the season as the #10 ranked team nationally.
ABOUT WESTERN COLORADO
The Mountaineers come into this week boasting a 5-9 record overall while going 3-3 in the RMAC.
They are currently on a four-game losing streak with them having dropped all three games they've played since the start of the new year.
This past week they fell to both Fort Lewis College and New Mexico Highlands University with both losses coming by at least 25 points or more.
In the series history CMU holds a 67-26 advantage over the Mountaineers with the Mavs winning the last nine matchups. The two schools faced off twice last season with their previous battle in Gunnison being a buzzer beater victory for the Mavs.
As an offense the Mountaineers are averaging 75.7 points per game while allowing 83.1 points in return for a -7.4 margin.
Aidan McDowell is the team's leading scorer averaging 26.5 points per game which leads the RMAC and ties him for the national lead. He has been a four-time RMAC player of the week selection this season.
Tyler Halligan (15.8 ppg) and Jordan Kuac (11.4 ppg) join McDowell as the team's other top offensive options.
Halligan is the team's leading rebounder at 6.3 boards per game to rank in the top 15 of the conference.
Following Tuesday's game the Mountaineers will head to Salt Lake City on Saturday to take on Westminster as well.
ABOUT WESTMINSTER
The Griffins are 6-8 this season while struggling early through RMAC play going 1-5 so far.
They are currently on a five-game losing streak with their last win coming on Dec. 11 against Colorado School of Mines.
This past week they lost both of their opening RMAC games of the new year with them falling to Adams State University and Fort Lewis College with both margins being 10 points or more.
Despite the recent struggles the Griffins are still a top five offense and defense in the RMAC averaging 83.3 points per game and holding opponents to 73.7 points per game.
They are shooting 47.9 percent from the field as well for second best in the conference.
Michael Frazier (12.9 ppg), Colin Hayes (12.2 ppg) and Cole Kadoguchi (11 ppg) are the team's top scorers with Frazier also grabbing 6.7 boards per game to rank top 10 in the RMAC.
Colorado Mesa has a 14-9 edge in the series history against Westminster with the Mavs winning the last five games.
The Griffins will host Western Colorado on Saturday after their trip to Grand Junction on Thursday.
RMAC NETWORK NEWS
The RMAC Network has moved to a pay-per-view model for the 2025-26 season. This season, all RMAC athletic events broadcast by its 15 full-member institutions and associate members will only be available for purchase via a single-game pass or a monthly or annual subscription. Revenue generated by the network will be redistributed to the league's membership to enhance their programs.
RMAC fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them with access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours.
Additionally, a discounted annual subscription price will be available to students, faculty, and staff of each member institution throughout the year. Purchasing options and pricing for individual RMAC Championships will be announced closer to each event.
COLORADO MESA TURNS 100
The CMU Century Celebration stands as the cornerstone of Colorado Mesa University's year-long centennial celebration. This ambitious initiative unites our community in honoring a rich heritage while boldly envisioning the next hundred years of academic excellence.
Led by the Steering Committee and six specialized sub-committees, we're orchestrating a transformative experience that will resonate through generations. Each committee brings unique expertise to create an unforgettable commemoration of our past, present and future.
To learn more about Colorado Mesa's 100-year celebration, visit cmucentury.com
UP NEXT
The Mavs will begin their "Welcome Back Week" for their following two-game home stand when they open the spring school semester by hosting Black Hills State and Chadron State on Jan. 22 and 24. Tickets can be purchased online at cmumavericks.com/tickets or in person at the gate.
