After last night’s heartbreaking defeat, there wasn’t any drama for the Mavericks to endure Saturday night. No late game buzzer beaters or cold stretches that lost a sizeable lead, either. In fact, it was pure dominance for Colorado Mesa University.
Included in the dominant effort was the inside game, where CMU hummed to a perfect tune in their 94-63 victory over Colorado Christian University.
Eight minutes into the contest, CMU finished at the rim with ease and jumped out to a 15-4 advantage. The Mavericks made sharp passes down low and had sharp cuts to the basket, especially from versatile junior Tommy Nuno.
“We felt like we had an advantage setting the ball screens with the five, and earlier we were running them with Brandon and he was getting swallowed up a little bit with their length and size,” CMU coach Mike DeGeorge said. “When we went on that big run in the first half we started to run Tommy through that first action and it really helped us and created a big advantage. He did a great job.”
The Mavericks jumped out to a 35-19 lead with five minutes remaining before halftime. Nuno utilized spin moves and crafty finishes around the rim to score 15 on 7-9 shooting. The guard also dished out four assists, four rebounds, and finished with a plus-minus of 21 in a strong first-half.
“We got Damon setting good screens and they were kinda confused on whether to switch or play me soft,” Nuno said. “It made it easier for me just to make a decision to either pass it or go score.”
CMU dominated from tip-off and carried that into halftime with a 50-31 lead. Mesa was a blistering 21-31 (67.7%) from the floor and committed just four turnovers to the Cougars’ nine.
Simply put, the Mavericks did whatever they wanted down low. The men cut to the bucket for wide open baseline passes, stretched their fastbreak game, and finished the half with 36 points in the paint.
“Pick and roll is what we do,” center Damon Dubots said. “The way they played defense tonight was just really easy for us to do well in that. So we just stuck to the game plan.”
The 50 points marked the first time the Mavericks scored 50 points in the first half since Dec. 7 against UCCS when they scored 52 and just the fifth time all season they’ve scored 50 in a half.
It was much of the same for CMU through 10 minutes after the break. The Mavericks increased their lead to 72-46 and kept their aggressiveness alive. Trips to the charity stripe were a regularity and the inside game continued its dominance.
“We knew that we could get their defense moving,” Dubots said. “If the first action wasn’t working we just reverse it one or two times and we knew that we’d be able to get a layup inside or a nice inside out kick three.”
Dubots finished with a game-high 19 points in 19 minutes and added four rebounds. Nudo ended with a strong all-around line: 16 points, four rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and a block.
Connor Nichols chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds for a Maverick team that had much of the box score in their favor. Kenzo Nudo had a bounce-back game with 7-10 shooting for 17 points.
CMU ended the night shooting 61.4% from the floor and 22-29 from the free throw line. The Mavericks received 42 points off the bench, 45 fastbreak points, and 17 assists.
For the Cougars, it was a night to forget. CCU turned it over 24 times and shot 43.1%, including 5-21 from deep. Collin Huun led the Cougars with 15 points.
CMU heads to Utah next weekend to take on Dixie State and Westminster.
“This is a huge weekend on the road for us,” DeGeorge said. “Really difficult places to play. Different physiological challenges with each game with both games being lopsided the first time in opposite directions. It’ll be a really important response for us this weekend.”
