GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa University men's basketball team continues their return to conference play this coming weekend as they head south for a pair of RMAC contests at New Mexico Highlands and Adams State.
The Mavericks will take on the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys on Thursday evening at 7 P.M. at John A Wilson Complex with them then closing their weekend at the Adams State Grizzlies on Saturday at 3 P.M. at Plachy Hall.
This weekend's games will be the first of three straight road matchups for the Mavericks as they then will be at home for five straight games after. All games going forward will be against conference opponents as well.
Currently the Mavs are tied for third place in the early season RMAC standings with them just one of five schools to have seven or more wins already.
LAST TIME OUT
The Mavericks improved to 7-5 overall and to 3-1 in RMAC play with a 90-62 blowout win over visiting Regis on Saturday as they played their first game of the new year.
The Mavericks hit 16 3-pointers in the win with that being the most in the two years of the program under Head Coach Mike Dunlap.
The Mavs' 90 points and 28-point margin of victory were new season-highs while improving to 4-0 this season at home.
Ty Allred was 5-for-7 from beyond the arc and scored a game-high 26 points while also collecting nine rebounds to lead the Mavs to a 43-19 (+24) advantage in that category.
Allred was named the conference's offensive player of the week for his performance which was released on Monday.
Clayton Jewell (18), Ben Henderson (13) and Kap Laila (10) also finished in double figures.
Henderson finished with a season-high nine assists, the most of any Maverick this season, and added six rebounds.
Jewell had eight rebounds for second best on the squad as well.
Laila's 10 points were a season-high with him collecting a season-high three steals as the Mavs matched a season-high with nine as a team.
The Mavs finished with 23 assists and shot 53.1 percent (34-64) from the field while also shooting 47.1 percent (16-34) from 3-point territory.
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
The Mavs improved in both categories of their offense and defense from last week's performance as they are now averaging 75.3 points per game this season while holding opponents to 72.7. Their defense ranks in the top five of the conference for the second week in a row with that mark while just five teams in the RMAC are holding opponents to under 75 points.
In addition, they have held opponents to the fourth fewest points this season among RMAC schools. They fare even better against RMAC opponents with them leading that category for the number one defense.
From the field the Mavs are shooting 45.8 percent with a 34 percent mark from three-point range and 80.5 percent from the free throw line. They currently lead the conference in free throw percentage and rank fifth nationally, while being under two percent away from the national lead.
CMU is grabbing 37.8 boards per game and holding opponents to 31.1. They rank in the top five of the conference for both categories.
Individually, Ty Allred continues to be the team's top scoring leader averaging 18.3 points per game while nearly averaging a double-double this season as he is grabbing 9.3 rebounds per game as well. Currently Allred leads the RMAC in rebounds per game.
Cohenj Gonzales and Mason Honeyman both serve as other top scoring options for the Mavs with Gonzales sitting at 11.5 points per game and Honeyman averaging 10.7.
Clayton Jewell and Ben Henderson each average over eight points per game to be other viable options with the duo scoring in double figures the last two 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 5.8 and Ball having 4.5.
Jewell and Allred also rank in the top-10 of the conference in blocks.
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 NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
The Cowboys are 4-11 this season while playing to a 2-2 record in conference play.
They have only played one game so far since the start of the new year with them dropping a nonconference matchup to CSU Pueblo on Jan. 3 by a score of 70-57.
They were able to claim all four of their wins in December, going 4-3 that month with them also beating Regis University.
In the series history the Mavs have a 60-20 advantage in all-time matchups with Colorado Mesa winning the last eight times.
The only other common opponent the Cowboys have this year besides Regis is Western New Mexico University with them being defeated by the Mustangs both times they faced off.
The Cowboys are averaging 70.3 points per game this season while having a negative margin for points given up with opponents averaging 77.4 points per game against them.
Opponents also own better marks in the three major shooting categories of field goal percentage, three-point percentage and free throw percentage.
Marcus Pierce is the only Cowboy to average in the double digits for scoring with 13.1 points per game while four others all average over nine points a game. Nikk Williams is grabbing 7.6 rebounds per game to rank sixth in the RMAC.
In total 17 different players have seen the court this year with 12 of them earning at least one start or more.
Following Thursday's game against the Mavs the Cowboys host Western Colorado on Saturday.
ABOUT ADAMS STATE
Faring a better season than the Cowboys thus far, the Grizzlies are 7-5 overall while going 1-3 in RMAC play.
They have not played since Dec. 19 of last year with them winning their last nonconference game played in a 100-90 victory over Northwest Nazarene University.
They have similar opponents of Dallas Baptist and Mines this season as well while dropping both games. Their lone win in conference play comes against MSU Denver.
The series history favors Colorado Mesa with the Mavs owning a 59-26 all-time record and winning the last 12 times the two have faced off.
The Grizzlies have a top-3 offense in the RMAC this season averaging 84.9 points per game while giving up 85 points per game to opponents.
Five different players are averaging scoring in the double figures with Luke Williams leading the way at 16.3 points per game. Wyatt Helming is second at 14.3 points per game, while the group of Emilek Jallow, Dillan Baker and Jarmell Johnson are all around 10 points per game.
Helming is grabbing 8.2 boards per game to rank in the top five of the conference for rebounding while also sitting at second in blocks with 18 total.
Prior to Saturday's game against the Mavs the Grizzlies host Westminster University 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
Following this weekend the Mavs will stay on the road for one more game next week at Western Colorado on Jan. 13 before returning to Brownson Arena on Jan. 15 to host Westminster University. They will play to a Tuesday, Thursday schedule on those dates with no games on the weekend. Streaming can be found online through the RMAC Network with tickets also available through cmumavericks.com/tickets.
