The Mavericks won two tough road games that went down to the wire behind their bench’s 79 total points.
Freshman forward Ethan Menzies scored a career-high 25 points off the bench on 11 of 13 shooting in a 94-91 win against Adams State University (ASU). Senior guard Tommy Nuno had his third double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 assists against the Grizzlies.
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) was outrebounded both nights by a slim margin, but their ball movement was key as they combined for 33 assists.
The second game of the weekend against the Grizzlies went down to the wire with senior guard Michael Skinner hitting a three-pointer with 58 seconds left in the game to put CMU up by one. A turn around jumper from Nuno and a free-throw from Skinner sealed the 94-91 win.
ASU led for 23:38 minutes of the game behind Rickey Norris and Juwan Green’s double-double. The duo combined for 40 points, 11 rebounds and 18 rebounds in the game.
The Grizzlies shot 57.9 percent from behind the arc and they were a perfect 14 of 14 from the free-throw line.
The Mavericks had 32 points in the paint in the first half, but they were down by 45-46 at halftime. Both teams struggled to gain an inch as CMU had a rebound advantage of two, but each team had 10 assists and two scorers in double figures.
Junior forward Jared Small exploded off the bench for the Mavericks against Fort Lewis College (FLC) in the first game of the weekend. Small scored 23 points on eight of nine shooting and he was a perfect four of four from behind the arc.
“For us, it’s really just more about us growing as a team and going on the road and putting a full effort together,” CMU Head Coach Mike DeGeorge said. “This is a very different place to play and a very talented team. It a really good team win and we’re building for the playoffs, we clinched that.”
Junior center Ethan Richardson had 25 points and six rebounds in the game to keep CMU’s offense multi-dimensional.
Both teams kept turnovers to a minimum as each team had nine.
CMU led for most of the game with two lead changes and four ties throughout the game, but the dominant play of Richardson and Small kept the game in the Mavericks favor. The Skyhawks came within two-points of CMU in the final five minutes of the game, but they never took the lead from the Mavericks.
“We’re a very confident group, so when we do get on the road, our breakdowns aren’t that we get shaken. It’s that sometimes we just aren’t imbedded enough in who we are,” DeGeorge said. “We’re seeing that come together, but we know this group is going to play with confidence, we know they are going to believe in themselves and their teammates.”
With 24 seconds left in the game, the Skyhawks were within four-points before Skinner and Small made three free-throws to seal the 89-82 win.
CMU’s final regular-season game is Friday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. on the road against Western Colorado University.
