Losing to a buzzer beater can be one of the toughest losses in sports. No matter which way you cut it, losing on the last possession after battling all game isn’t easy.
Avenging a buzzer-beater loss against that same team on their home court? Well, that might make up for it.
Connor Nichols and Kenzo Nudo put on an offensive show Saturday evening in Colorado Mesa University’s win against Regis University. The duo combined for 46 points in the 75-71 victory and avenged their hard-luck loss from the last meeting between these two playoff contenders.
Regis did everything in their power through the first 12 minutes to keep the Mavericks from revenge. The Rangers jumped out to a 25-18 lead on Jarrett Brodbeck’s three-pointer and seemed to have offensive momentum with Brodbeck and Ryan Beisty finding an early rhythm.
Not so fast, Rangers. CMU closed the half on a 21-14 run. Nichols finished a layup to grab a short 37-36 lead. Avonte Nelms sank a three with ten seconds left, but Michael Skinner elevated for a slam dunk to end the half with the two teams tied at 39-39.
Both teams came out firing on all cylinders on the offensive side. In short, Nudo and Nichols took over.
Mike Ritter | The CriterionThe two shooters combined to score 20 of the Maverick’s 22 points through the first 15 minutes of the second half, mixing threes with crafty two’s to keep Mesa’s run alive. Luckily for Regis, they kept up with the offensive onslaught.
With the score at 62-61 and 5:33 remaining in the contest, Brodbeck hit a three to take a 64-61 lead. For the second night in a row, the Mavericks finished strong. Back-to-back jumpers from Nudo and Tommy Nuno gave CMU a 70-66 lead.
Skinner came up handy and picked up a couple of steals within a minute, but the Rangers kept pace. Regis pulled within three with 1:30 remaining but Nichols made his jumper to close the gap with just over a minute left.
Beisty sank a jumper and a free throw to give the Rangers one last-ditch effort for another buzzer beater, but Nuno nailed both free throws with 14 seconds left to ice the game.
Nichols finished with 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting and added six rebounds. Nudo was even better off the bench with 25 points on 17 attempts and 4-of-7 from long range. Nuno chipped in 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and a steal.
Brodbeck was 10-of-22 from the floor (4-of-14 from three) for 25 points. The Rangers relied on the three heavily in this one and it backfired. They were 9-of-33 (27 percent) from three.
CMU shot 32-of-63 (50.8 percent) from the field, 4-of-11 from deep, and scored 50 points in the paint. The Mavericks also dished out 18 assists against 12 turnovers.
A strong win over the No. 2 Rangers gave CMU a 3-1 road trip record over the past two weeks and has them in control of their own destiny as the current six seed.
With the last three games of the regular season at Brownson Arena, CMU (17-8, 12-7 RMAC) is well positioned to make the RMAC Tournament for the first time since 2016.
