Last weekend the Colorado Mesa University men’s and women’s basketball teams each hosted a pair of games. The women’s team lost to Regis University 66-60 on Friday, and beat University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS) 62-64 on Saturday. The 22nd nationally ranked men’s team won 88-64, and 83-63, against the same opponents following the women’s games.
The games on Saturday were the second annual Blizzard in Brownson games, presented by Coca Cola. Fans were encouraged to wear white, and both games were filled with prizes. At halftime of the men’s game, four student athletes split a $10,000 scholarship check.
For the women’s team, the 2022-23 season has been a challenge, because of injuries, and having such a young team. Playing Regis on Friday was another challenge, as the Rangers entered the game second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) standings.
However, the Mavericks went to battle against Regis. CMU won the first quarter by four, and went into the fourth quarter with a 42-45 lead thanks to redshirt senior Monica Brooks. The lone senior on the team set a career high with 25 points, and also added four assists and six rebounds.
“I felt it, I could sense something different about [Brooks]. She knows it’s getting close to the end, and I hope she can keep playing like that,” head coach Taylor Wagner said.
Down the stretch, the Mavericks went cold, shooting 29% in the fourth quarter. Regis then used a last minute 5-0 scoring run to beat CMU 66-60.
After the women took the narrow defeat, the 22nd ranked men’s team took the floor and dominated Regis almost the entirety of the game. The Rangers kept the game close until redshirt sophomore Reece Johnson threw down an-and-one posterizing dunk that lit Brownson on fire.
Following the Johnson dunk, the Mavericks continued a 18-3 scoring run, and led by 14 at half. The second half the Mavs offense became electric, shooting 71% in the frame, and won the game comfortably 64-88 .
Redshirt sophomore Blaisse Threatt was unstoppable in the game, and set a career high with 30 points on 11/14 shooting.
uring post-game interviews, redshirt sophomore Owen Koonce was describing how Threatt had favorable matchups. “They were switching, so he got some pretty easy matchups.” Threatt chimed in, “very easy,” with a confident smile.
Threatt carried the confidence into Saturday, where he scored the first four points of the game against UCCS to reach 1000 career points. Head coach Mike DeGeorge immediately called a timeout, and the crowd gave Threatt a standing ovation while his teammates congratulated him.
“It means a lot,” Threatt said, “My whole family came, and they scheduled this three months in advance because tickets were so expensive. I did the math a couple games ago and saw I was 59 points away, and I was like ‘I want my family here to see it,’ so it meant a lot to have them here.”
The milestones continued, and with the 83-63 win DeGeorge recorded his 105th win at CMU and his 300th career win as a collegiate coach.
“Reflecting back, it is meaningful thinking about all the guys I’ve had the pleasure to coach. I really value the opportunity to coach here. I think it’s just an incredibly special program, and to be able to work with this group of guys makes it that much more special,” DeGeorge said.
Before the milestone setting men’s game, the women’s team came away with an hectic win over UCCS. After leading the majority of the first three quarters, UCCS took the lead from CMU with just over six minutes left.
Moments later, sophomore guard Kylie Kravig hit a shot, and made several free throws to give the Mavericks a 56-62 lead with less than a minute left. Then, UCCS made a layup, and CMU missed two free throws. On the other end freshman center Olivia Reed blocked a shot, but received a technical for taunting in the process. UCCS made both technical free throws to close the gap at 62-60.
After a UCCS missed shot, Kravig split a pair of free throws and CMU led by three with four seconds left. With a chance to tie the game with a three pointer, UCCS took a two point layup, and then called a timeout they did not have. UCCS head coach Lynn Plett received a technical for the offense, which effectively ended the game.
The men’s team now sit at 18-4 overall, and fourth in the RMAC standings. With their win
on Saturday, the women’s team moved past UCCS for eighth place in the RMAC standings, and now support a 7-9 conference record.
Both teams travel to take on Colorado School of Mines and Metro State University- Denver this weekend.
