Sophomore forward Ethan Menzies set a new career-high in points with 26 to help the Mavericks beat the Cougars 80-60 in their home opener.
“He is a guy that is going to carry the load offensively for us at times this year and he is very capable. I think that just have four and five men on the floor will make him be more comfortable than trying to deal with posting up guards,” Head Coach Mike DeGeorge said.”
Eight of the 11 players in Colorado Mesa University’s (CMU) lineup were freshmen or redshirt freshmen. The freshmen contributed 46 points for the Mavericks with redshirt freshman guard Mac Rinker and freshman guard Christopher Speller getting the start.
Rinker had 12 points, five rebounds and 3 assists in the game. His impact was felt on the defensive side of the floor as he picked up two steals and three blocks.
The Mavericks jumped out to a seven-point lead over Colorado Christian University (CCU) in the first three minutes of the game. CCU tied the game up at 12:23 and took the lead with a three from Andy Stafford.
The next play down the floor, Johnson got an offensive rebound, and fought through contact for the and-1 finish. Johnson converted at the line to tie the game back up at 19, queueing a 14-3 run in CMU’s favor.
The Mavericks momentum helped them to a 43-35 halftime lead with Menzies 17 points leading the team. Menzies played 17 minutes in the half and was 70 percent from the field including a three.
“I was just trying to go out there and win us the game, just trying to go out there and give it my all,” Menzies said.
CMU started with a bang in the second half with Rinker driving the left baseline before slamming it home over Cougar’s defenders. Rinker followed that play up with a steal and a fast-break layup on the very next play.
CCU answered with two threes of their own, and they were able to keep the deficit from reaching double digits until the 12:19 mark.
The Mavericks were able to then hold the Cougars scoreless for the seven minutes of play while scoring 24 points of their own. CMU was able to keep their lead from dipping below 20 points as they earned their first win of the season.
Johnson was the second-leading scorer for the Mavericks scoring 13 points. He also had six rebounds and three assists in the Mavericks win.
“Coach just said be ready to play when you can. He said it in practice, you might be on the bench one game and fill in the next, so it’s just next man up attitude and play together and we will do good things,” freshman guard Reece Johnson said.
The Maverick’s next game is on Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. against Metro State University-Denver in Brownson Arena.
