GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa University men's basketball team look to continue building on their top three positioning in the RMAC conference this weekend as they host a pair of Southern Colorado schools in CSU Pueblo and UCCS.
Playing the final two games of their five-game home stretch, the Mavericks will face off with CSUP on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before closing out their week against UCCS on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Thursday's game will be the annual Blizzard in Brownson event with fans encouraged to wear white to the game. There will also be many festivities to occur during the game.
Saturday's game will then be 'Jersey Day' with fans encouraged to wear jerseys to the game. The main attraction will also be featuring a Nikola Jokic Autograph Jersey Prize Drawing with tickets available to purchase online at 2026 Nikola Jokic Jersey Prize Drawing - Campaign or in person at the game. All tickets will be sold electronically with a table available to help with purchasing at both games.
Colorado Mesa is currently 11-7 overall this season while holding a 7-3 mark in conference play which ties them for third place in the RMAC standings. They are tied with CSU Pueblo and Colorado School of Mines for third place with all three schools being just three games back of first place.
LAST TIME OUT
The Mavericks split a pair of home games last week, falling 85-63 to hot-shooting Black Hills State on Thursday before bouncing back for an 86-68 win over Chadron State on Saturday.
Black Hills State, ranked 21st nationally, matched a school-record by hitting 19 3-pointers in Thursday's game.
Clayton Jewell recorded his fourth straight double-double with 17 points and ten rebounds to lead the Mavs in the loss.
Ty Allred then recorded a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double, his sixth of the season and first in 2026, in Saturday's win.
Harvey White also added 16 points while Jewell added 12 points and seven rebounds. Wes Ball also scored a dozen.
Ben Henderson tallied nine assists against Chadron State, the most of any Maverick in the team's 47 games under Head Coach Mike Dunlap.
The team's 24 assists were also the most in that time.
The Mav are 6-1 at home this season and 5-2 during the month of January.
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
The Mavs continue to hold their standings in the offense and defense categories after last week with them averaging 77.6 points per game this season and holding opponents to 74. Their scoring margin of 3.6 ranks in the top five of the conference.
In addition, their defense ranks in the top five of the conference for a fifth week in a row.
Just six teams in the RMAC are holding opponents to under 75 points with Colorado Mesa being one of them.
From the field the Mavs are shooting 47.6 percent with a 35.4 percent mark from three-point range and 81.1 percent from the free throw line. They continue lead the RMAC and rank second nationally now with their season-long free throw percentage.
CMU is grabbing 37.9 boards per game and holding opponents to 30.3 with them also ranking in the top five of the conference for both categories. They rank first and lead the combined opponent rebounds column which means they are allowing the fewest rebounds against them of any team in the conference.
Their 7.7 rebounding margin also is top-25 in the nation.
Ty Allred leads the team's scoring efforts averaging 17.9 points per game while nearly averaging a double-double this season as he is grabbing 8.5 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures in every game but one this season while leading the team with his six double doubles.
Allred ranks second in the RMAC in rebounding and is fifth in scoring per game.
Clayton Jewell, Cohenj Gonzales and Harvey White serve as the team's other top offensive scorers with Jewell and Gonzales sitting at just over 11 points per game and White owning 10.1 points per game.
Of that bunch Jewell has scored in double figures for nine straight games now.
In total nine different Mavs have recorded double figure scoring performances this season with six of them having at least one 20-point performance as well.
Beyond Allred's rebounding efforts both Jewell and Wes Ball have been other players to grab significant boards this season with Jewell averaging 7.1 and Ball having 4.8. Jewell ranks sixth in the RMAC with that mark.
Allred and Jewell also rank in the top 10 of the conference in blocks. Jewell leads the team with 19 total this season.
Harvey White serves as the team's assists leader with 52 total to average 2.7 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.
Allred and Harvey White were also named to the 2025-26 Preseason All-RMAC team after both playing being key contributors in Dunlap's inaugural year with the Mavs.
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 three team's ranked in the NABC poll as well, taking down #3 Dallas Baptist University and falling to #25 Lubbock Christian and #21 Black Hills State.
They have also defeated Colorado School of Mines who began the season as the #10 ranked team nationally.
ABOUT CSU PUEBLO
Coming to Grand Junction for the first time since the 2023-24 season, the Thunderwolves hold a 13-5 record this year while going 7-3 in RMAC play.
They are currently on a one-game losing streak after going 1-1 this last week. In their two previous games they were able to defeat Adams State University 73-65 last Thursday on the road before falling to New Mexico Highlands 82-76 in Las Vegas, N.M on Saturday.
Prior to their loss to the Cowboys the Thunderwolves were on a six-game winning streak.
All-time the Mavs hold a 49-24 advantage against the Thunderwolves with Colorado Mesa narrowly winning last year's lone matchup in a 64-61 decision.
In their first season under the new leadership of Head Coach Zach Ruebesam, the Pack are averaging 74 points per game while limiting opponents to 64.3.
They currently have the number one defense in the conference and 15th best in the nation while only giving up more than 80 points twice this season.
Jordain Blair (14.3 ppg) and Jaden Kennis (12.3 ppg) are the team's top scorers with Blair also averaging 6.7 rebounds per game to lead the squad.
The Riehl brothers will also be facing off this Thursday with Tevin Riehl's brother, Bryce Riehl, playing for CSUP as each will meet on the court for the first time this season.
Following Thursday's game, the Thunderwolves head to Salt Lake City on Saturday to take Westminster for the final game of their four-game road trip.
ABOUT UCCS
The Mountain Lions are 10-8 this season while going 5-5 in RMAC play so far.
They lost both of their matchups this past weekend with them falling to both New Mexico Highlands and Fort Lewis College.
This Saturday will be the second time this season that CMU and UCCS meet on the hardwood with the last time the two met being in December in Colorado Springs. The Mountain Lions won that decision by a score of 92-80.
Despite the previous loss the Mavs still hold the all-time advantage over the Mountain Lions with a 45-13 record.
UCCS is averaging a league-high 88.7 points per game this season while giving up 85.3 points per game in return. Their offense ranks in the top 20 of the nation.
Xavier Martinez is the team's leading scorer averaging 12.9 points per game. He is joined by Brody Hull and Mario Williams Jr. who both average 11.9 points per game and Marzouq Abdur-Razaaq who averages 11.6 points per game to be the team's double figure scorers.
Abdur-Razaaq is also grabbing 6.2 boards per game to lead the squad and rank in the top 15 of the RMAC.
18 different players have seen the floor for UCCS this season with nine different players having at least one start.
Prior to Saturday's game against the Mavs, the Mountain Lions will stop in Gunnison on Thursday first to take on Western Colorado.
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 take to Denver for a two-game road trip next week as they face off with both MSU Denver and Regis University. This will be their first time taking on MSU Denver this season with them already collecting a win against Regis at home earlier this month. Games are set for Thursday, Feb. 5 and Saturday, Feb. 7 with streaming available through the RMAC Network.
