GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa University men's basketball team continue their search of a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament Championship this weekend as they look to their next matchup in the semifinals round against CSU Pueblo.
The Mavericks, who earned the No. 2 seed for this week's RMAC Tournament, will take on No. 3 seed CSU Pueblo this Friday with all games for the semifinals and championship round taking place at No. 1 seed Black Hills State University who is serving as the host.
Friday's game will take place at 5 p.m. with the winner then moving onto Saturday for the championship game. No. 1 Black Hills State and No. 4 Fort Lewis College will play at 7 p.m. tomorrow for the other semifinal game.
In addition to the Mavs being just two games away from an RMAC Tournament Championship, they were also in the No. 8 spot of this week's NCAA South Central Regional Rankings, which was the final release of the rankings 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.
NCAA Regionals will begin next weekend.
TUESDAY'S QUARTERFINAL WIN
Prior to moving on in the tournament, the Mavs escaped with a 91-90 overtime win over New Mexico Highlands on Tuesday as they won their first-round matchup in exciting fashion.
The game went a total of 45 minutes of action with a clutch CMU final minute bucket and two missed free throws from the Cowboys sealing the deal.
There were 48 total fouls that occurred, including four technicals. Four players, including three Cowboys, were disqualified.
The lead changed hands 14 times and was tied on 12 separate occasions.
Colorado Mesa's Ty Allred hit a 3-pointer with 21.9 seconds remaining in regulation to even the game at 75 and send in to overtime as the Cowboys missed a potential game-winning layup at the regulation buzzer.
Allred then came through big again after finishing strong on a reverse layup in overtime to give the Mavs the lead.
The Cowboys had a chance to win the game to follow but free throw shooting was costly as Nikk Williams missed potential game-tying and go-ahead free throw shots with 4.0 seconds left as the Mavericks held on for the win.
The Mavs advanced to the RMAC Semifinals for the sixth time and seven years with the win while also collecting their 20th win. They have now had 20-win seasons five times in the last seven seasons.
Allred had a career-high 35 points in the game while Mason Honeyman, playing for the first time in the calendar year after missing the last 17 regular season games due to injury, added 17 points.
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
The Mavs are averaging 81 points per game while limiting opponents to 75.7. They finished the regular season top five in the both categories for RMAC with the Mavs being just one of six schools to average over 80 points per game.
Their 5.3 scoring margin was top five in the conference as well with them holding opponents to 70 points or less in a game 10 times this season.
From the field the Mavs are shooting 49.1 percent with a 39.3 percent mark from three-point range and 81 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 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.
CMU is grabbing 36.2 boards per game and holding opponents to 30.6. They were top five in the RMAC for both.
The Mavs finished the regular season with 1,010 rebounds and were just one of seven RMAC schools to achieve the 1,000-plus rebound feat.
On the individual side, Ty Allred leads the team with 18.9 points per game this season while adding 7.4 rebounds. He has scored in double figures in every game but four this season.
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 Gonzales at 10.9 and White at 10.8
Ben Henderson sits right behind that group as the final double figure scorer with 10.6 points per game.
Mason Honeyman is averaging 11.3 points but has only appeared in 12 games this season after missing much time to injury.
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 four 30-point performances.
In addition to Allred, both Jewell and Wes Ball have been other players to grab significant boards this season with Jewell owning 7.5 boards per game and Allred sitting at 7.4. Ball is averaging 4.7 to round out the group. 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. Jewell leads the team with 36 total this season. Allred adds 34.
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 108 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.
Black Hills was ranked both #21 and #14 the two times they faced off with the Mavs.
They have also defeated Colorado School of Mines who began the season as the #10 ranked team nationally.
ABOUT CSU PUEBLO
The Thunderwolves will enter tomorrow's game having gone 22-7 this season while earning the No. 3 seed in the RMAC Conference Tournament.
They won their first-round game over Colorado School of Mines on Tuesday by a score of 82-70 with the Orediggers being the six seed in the tournament.
Friday's game will be the second time the CMU and CSUP meet this season with the Mavs winning the previous matchup, 70-66 on Jan. 29 in Grand Junction.
They are currently in their first season under the helm of Head Coach Zach Ruebesam with this being their first 20-win season since 2014-15.
All-time the Mavs hold a 50-24 advantage against the Thunderwolves while winning the last 10 matchups.
CSUP finished the regular season having the number one defense in the conference and 14th best in the nation while only giving up more than 80 points twice this season. They are scoring just 73.1 points as a team but limit opponents to 64.4.
Jordain Blair (13.5 ppg) and Jaden Kennis (11.5 ppg) are the team's top scorers with Blair also averaging 6.4 rebounds per game to lead the squad. The pair, plus Dylan Jennings, were all named to All-RMAC which was released earlier today.
The Riehl brothers will also be facing off for the second time this Friday with Tevin Riehl's brother, Bryce Riehl, playing for CSUP.
In the most recent NCAA South Central Regional Rankings the Pack were ranked 10th out of the top 10 teams with them sitting outside of the predicted top eight teams to make it.
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
