GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa University men's basketball team play their final two games of the regular season this week when they travel north South Dakota to take on both South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State.
The Mavericks will face off with South Dakota Mines on Thursday first at 7:30 p.m. to start their week at King Center. They will then conclude the regular season at Black Hills State on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Donald E. Young Center.
The Mavs have a chance to win at least a share of the conference title with these two games remaining as they are currently just one game back of the conference lead. Their final game against Black Hills State will also have large implications on who will host the conference tournament in the coming weekend.
Despite what happens, the Mavs are already guaranteed at least a top four finish in the RMAC as well.
The Mavs are also under consideration for a NCAA Tournament spot after appearing in the top 10 of the South Central Regional Rankings, which were released for the first time in alphabetical order last Wednesday. A ranked top 10 will be released later this afternoon.
LAST TIME OUT
The Mavericks split two games last week playing both on the road and at home.
They saw a 7-game winning streak snapped at Westminster last Tuesday by a 73-68 score before then bouncing back with a 100-90 win over Western Colorado on Saturday afternoon.
Senior Ty Allred, a native of Mona, Utah, scored 28 points in the loss to Westminster and surpassed the 1,000 career point milestone in his home state.
Allred, who now has 1,040 career points, was then recognized before the game on Saturday as the team's lone senior.
He had 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting and hit three of five 3-pointers in the victory.
The Mavs had five players in double figures on Saturday as well with Harvey White scoring 22 points while recording a new career-high nine assists. He was 9-for-11 from the field.
Clayton Jewell also added 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
The Mavs shot 60.3 percent (38-63) from the field and had 25 assists. CMU has now reached the 100-point mark in two of their last four games after going nearly two seasons without reaching triple figures.
The win over Western clinched a top four finish in the RMAC and will guarantee the Mavs will host a RMAC Tournament Quarterfinal on Tuesday, Mar. 3.
CMU is now 11-1 at home this season and have won eight out of nine games. They are 13-3 in 2026.
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
Breaking through to the 80-point mark, CMU is now averaging 80.1 points per game this season while owning a top five defense as they limit opponents to 74.6 points per game.
Their 5.5 scoring margin ranks in the top five of the conference as well with them holding opponents to 70 points or less in a game 10 times this season.
Just five teams in the RMAC are holding opponents to under 75 points per game with Colorado Mesa being one of them and allowing the fourth fewest points of any team in the league.
From the field the Mavs are shooting 49.1 percent with a 39.5 percent mark from three-point range and 81.7 percent from the free throw line. All three rank either first or second in the conference and in the top 25 of the nation.
Their free throw percentage has been No. 1 nationally almost the entire season while they are ninth in the country for three-point percentage. In addition, they are the only team in the conference to own a free throw percentage above 80 percent.
In the rebounding department, CMU is grabbing 36.2 boards per game and holding opponents to 30.1. They rank sixth in team rebounds and second in the opponent rebounds. They are also just 59 rebounds away from reaching 1,000 on the season.
Their 6.1 rebounding margin ranks third in the RMAC as well while also being top-30 in the nation.
On the individual side, Ty Allred leads the team scoring 18.9 points per game this season while adding 7.5 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures in every game but three this season.
Allred currently ranks second in the conference in scoring (18.9), seventh in field-goal percentage (50%), sixth in three-point percentage (41%), fifth in blocked shots (31 / 1.2), and third in rebounds (7.5).
Clayton Jewell, Cohenj Gonzales and Harvey White serve as the team's other top offensive scorers with Jewell averaging 11.3 points, White adding 11.1 points and Gonzales sitting at 10.6 points.
Ben Henderson nearly is at double figure scoring as well with 9.7 points per game.
In total ten different Mavs have recorded double figure scoring performances this season with six of them having at least one 20-point performance as well. Allred has the two lone 30-point performances.
In addition to Allred, both Jewell and Wes Ball have been other players to grab significant boards this season with Jewell averaging 7.1 and Ball averaging 4.6. Jewell ranks fifth in the RMAC with that mark as the Mavs have two of the conference's top rebounders.
Jewell and Allred also rank in the top five of the conference in blocks. Jewell leads the team with 32 total this season to average 1.2 per game. Allred adds 31 for 1.2 per game.
Harvey White serves as the team's assists leader with 96 total to average 3.7 per game and rank in the top 10 of the RMAC. He also ranks in the top five for assist to turnover ratio at 2.3.
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' 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 SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
The Hardrockers are 9-17 this season while going 6-12 in RMAC play. They currently are tied for 12th place in the RMAC standings while having missed out on making the conference tournament for the sixth year in a row, minus the 2019-2020 COVID-shortened season.
Coming into this week they are on an eight-game losing streak with their last win being against Westminster University on Jan. 24.
This past week they fell to both New Mexico Highlands and Fort Lewis with each loss being by 20 points or more.
In the series history, Colorado Mesa has a 10-1 record against South Dakota Mines while winning the last five matchups.
The Hardrockers are averaging 75.2 points per game this season with opponents faring better, scoring 80.8 points per game.
Their field goal percentage of 41.6 percent ranks second to last in the conference.
Jason Lee is the team's leading scorer averaging 17.9 points per game which places him fifth for individual leaders in the RMAC.
Ryan Sweeney (13.4 ppg) and Gray Thompson (10.4 ppg) are the team's other top scoring options.
Following Thursday's game the Hardrockers will host Western Colorado on Saturday for their final homestand of the season.
ABOUT BLACK HILLS STATE
Being the only team in the conference to break the 20-win mark to this point, the Yellow Jackets are 22-4 this season while going 15-3 in the RMAC.
They are currently on a five-game winning streak with them going 9-1 in their last 10 games.
This past week they took down both Adams State and New Mexico Highlands on the road to narrowly claim the one-game lead in the conference standings.
Saturday's game will be the second time that CMU and BHSU will face off this season with the Yellow Jackets winning last time in an 85-63 decision at Brownson Arena.
Despite the prior loss, Colorado Mesa still owns the all-time record advantage, 15-10.
The Yellow Jackets rank in the top three for both offense and defense of the RMAC while also being top 10 in the nation for three-point percentage.
Cam Lowe is the team's leading scorer at 17.7 points per game while also adding 6.5 boards. Lowe was recently named to the SCB Bevo Francis Top 50 Watch List, joining Allred as the only other member from the RMAC to be represented.
Beyond Lowe, the group of Jaeton Hackley (12.9 ppg), Myles Johnson (12.1 ppg) and Tristan Hurdle (10.2 ppg) serve as the team's other top scoring leaders.
Prior to hosting the Mavs on Saturday, the Yellow Jackets will take on 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
Regardless of how the season ends this weekend, the Mavs will host a quarterfinal matchup next Tuesday at Brownson Arena. Game time that day will be set for 7:30 p.m. with the women's team hosting a quarterfinal matchup before it as well. More information will be released next week.
