Shooting woes continued for the Colorado Mesa University (CMU) men’s basketball team as they lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to the Angelo State University (ASU) Rams 72-57.
The Mavericks entered the national tournament as the number four seed in the south central region. Controversially, the one seed in the region was West Texas A&M, which allowed the school to host the first three rounds. After the regular season concluded, Fort Lewis College was the number one seed in the region in every voting poll and metric used. However, when the voting was sent to the national committee, they named West Texas A&M the one seed, and host of the region.
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) provided a public statement objecting to the national committee’s decision
“We object to their decision to replace Fort Lewis College as the top seed in the region, a position that they rightfully earned,”.
Nonetheless, RMAC protests were to no avail, as West Texas A&M remained host of the tournament, and all the teams traveled to Amarillo, Texas to kick off the national tournament.
Last time out, CMU lost in the RMAC semifinals to the Colorado School of Mines. In the game, the Mavericks simply could not convert offensively, and the struggles carried into the tournament.
ASU came into the matchup with the best defense in their respected conference and continued that trend against CMU. After a pair of early three pointers by the Mavericks, the Rams tightened up their defense, and grabbed their first lead of the game with just under nine minutes to go in the first half.
Then, the Rams caught fire on the offensive side of the ball, as the squad began to hit both open and contested three pointers to give them a 41-26 lead into the halftime break.
The vibe of the game remained after the halftime break. Both teams battled defensively, but it was ASU hitting difficult shots at the end of shot clock to maintain their double digit lead.
With 10 minutes to go in the game, CMU did their best to come back, going on a 9-0 scoring run to close the ASU lead to just six points. Unfortunately, once again, the Rams made another difficult shot at the end of the shot clock to bring the momentum back to ASU.
“It was just one of those games where it seems like all the effort plays went their way,” CMU head coach Mike DeGeorge said. “The ball would end up in their hands, and they would hit a shot at the end of the shot clock. We had several of those bang-bang type of plays that just didn’t go our way.”
ASU kept the momentum on their side the rest of the game, winning the first round matchup by 15. The Rams were able to score 72 points without their leading scorer and seem like a tough matchup for any team moving forward.
The glaring statistic for the Mavs was their free throw shooting and their three point shooting. The squad only shot 6-22 from behind the arc, and a miserable 3-12 at the free throw line, which was both well below their season averages.
In the game, redshirt sophomore Blaise Threatt finished well below his season scoring with 10 points on only eight shots.
“Just credit to [ASU]. We couldn’t make any shots, and that starts with me,” Threatt said. “I take credit for the wins, I take credit for the losses so, this is on me, and I have to be better.”
Even with a disappointing end of the season, the 2022-23 season for the Mavericks was one to remember. The squad was second in program history with 25 wins, and won a share of the regular season RMAC title. The team has no listed juniors or seniors on the roster, and should be poised for another successful season next year.
“It’s not just being really excited for the future, but I’m [also] excited to work with these guys. They’re just awesome human beings, and it’s just a really special group. You gotta take these moments that are so hard, tuck them away, and use it over these next six months so we’re ready,” DeGeorge said.
