GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa University men's basketball team begin the postseason phase of their 2025-26 campaign this evening as they welcome New Mexico Highlands University for a first round Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinal matchup in their start of the postseason.
The Mavericks have earned the No. 2 seed for this week's RMAC Tournament and will take on No. 7 seed New Mexico Highlands for the third time at home at 7:30 p.m.
A win will advance either team to the semifinals round which will be hosted by the highest remaining seed after the quarterfinals.
The Mavs were also in the No. 8 spot of last week's NCAA South Central Regional Rankings, which will be updated one more time on Wednesday before Sunday night's tournament selection show, which will air at 9 p.m. MDT on NCAA.com.
Eight teams, including the RMAC and Lone Star Conference Tournament Champions, who will both receive automatic spots, will be selected.
LAST TIME OUT
The Mavericks (19-9, 15-5 RMAC) finished the regular season in a tie for second place in the RMAC standings after splitting their road trip to South Dakota this past weekend.
The Mavs scored 110 points, their ninth highest single-game total, in Thursday's 110-93 win over South Dakota Mines.
Ben Henderson scored a career-high 31 points while Ty Allred added 23.
The Mavs scored an incredible 78 points in the paint in that victory and shot 68.6 percent (48-70).
The Mavs then played at 14th-ranked Black Hills State on Saturday, falling 74-65.
CMU had an 11-point halftime lead but shot just 37.1 percent (13-35) in the second half as the Yellow Jackets won the RMAC title outright with the win.
Cohenj Gonzales scored 17 points to lead five Mavericks in double figures.
Clayton Jewell had a season-high 14 rebounds and scored 10 points to register his seventh double-double.
The Mavs matched last year's regular-season win total with 19 and are 11-1 at home this season. They can reach the 20-win mark for the sixth time in seven seasons with a win tonight.
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
Upon the conclusion of the regular season, the Mavs are averaging 80.6 points per game while limiting opponents to 75.2. Both rank top five in the RMAC with the Mavs being just one of six schools to average over 80 points per game.
Their 5.4 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 eight teams in the RMAC have held opponents to under 80 points per game with Colorado Mesa being one of them and allowing the third fewest points of any team in the league.
From the field the Mavs are shooting 49.6 percent with a 39.2 percent mark from three-point range and 80.9 percent from the free throw line.
All three rank first in the conference and in the top 25 of the nation.
Their free throw percentage has also been No. 1 nationally almost the entire season while they are 10th 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 36.1 boards per game and holding opponents to 30.3. They rank sixth in team rebounds and second in the opponent rebounds.
The Mavs finished the regular season with 1,010 rebounds and were just one of seven RMAC schools to achieve that feat.
Their 5.8 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 with 18.4 points per game this season while adding 7.4 rebounds. He has scored in double figures in every game but four this season.
Allred currently ranks third in the conference in scoring, seventh in field-goal percentage, seventh in three-point percentage, fourth in blocked shots and third in rebounds.
Clayton Jewell, Cohenj Gonzales and Harvey White serve as the team's other top offensive scorers with each of them sitting at around 11 points per game. Jewell sits at 11.1 points with White and Gonzales averaging exactly 11.
Ben Henderson sits right behind that group as the final double figure scorer with 10.6 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 and Henderson have combined for the three 30-point performances.
In addition to Allred, both Jewell and Wes Ball have been other players to grab significant boards this season with Jewell matching Allred at 7.4 boards per game and Ball averaging 4.7. Jewell ranks fourth 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. Allred leads the team with 34 total this season to average 1.2 per game. Allred adds 33 for 1.2 per game.
The duo have combined for 13 double doubles this season with Jewell having seven of them and Allred having six.
Harvey White is the team's assists leader with 103 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 #14 Black Hills State.
They have also defeated Colorado School of Mines who began the season as the #10 ranked team nationally.
ABOUT NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
The Cowboys finished the regular season with a 13-18 overall record while going 11-9 in conference play.
Tonight's game will be the first time in four years that they have reached the conference tournament with this also Head Coach Zach Settembre's first trip to the tournament after taking over the program this past spring.
They come into the tournament as the No. 7 seed with them beating out UCCS, who's the No. 8 seed, by one game in the standings.
The Cowboys and Mavs have met two times prior this season with CMU being victorious in those matchups by scores of 94-84 and 85-80.
This will be the second straight time they meet in Browson Arena as well with the 85-80 win being on Feb. 14 at home.
In the series history, Colorado Mesa has won the last 10 times while owning a career record of 62-20.
This season the Cowboys have averaged 78.4 points per game while shooting 48.5 percent from the field. They finished the regular season ranked seventh in both offense and defense for the conference.
Despite top 10 marks for both of those categories they are dead last in free throw percentage at 69.6 percent.
Marcus Pierce is the team's leading scorer averaging 14.8 points per game this season while also being the top three-point threat with a 43 percent three-point shooting average.
Ramiah Adedigba (11.7 ppg), Ibrahima Sacko (11.1 ppg) and Dontae Walker (10.8 ppg) are the team's other top scoring options while a total of 18 different players have seen the court this season.
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
