The Mavericks hold on in overtime to beat the Skyhawks 74-72 to improve 11-0.
Senior guard Georgie Dancer scored a career-high 26 points and he added five rebounds along with two steals in the contest.
Sophomore forward Ethan Menzies recorded a career-high 12 rebounds in the game while contributing 19 points in the victory. He played 41 of the 45 minutes in the game against Fort Lewis College (FLC).
The Skyhawks were first to score in the first half, but the Mavericks were quick to answer and take a four-point lead. Neither team was able to build more than a five-point in the first half as each team immediately answered the other baskets.
The Skyhawks were able to take the lead with 7:15 left in the first half and they didn’t allow Colorado Mesa University (CMU) to take it back. FLC took a 34-29 lead into the second half.
FLC again scored first in the second half, but CMU tied the game with 18:03 on the clock. Dancer got into the paint and converted through traffic to tie the game up at 36.
Both teams traded shots in the opening ten minutes of the second half before the Skyhawks took an eight-point lead. Each time the Mavericks scored, FLC answered with their own as their own basket.
The Skyhawks increased their lead to ten points with 10:53 left in the second half.
Dancer and Menzies got to work cutting into FLC’s lead down to two-points as Dancer converted a layup through traffic and drew the foul. He went to the free-throw line for the and-one opportunity and converted.
Freshman guard Blaise Threatt scored five straight points for the Mavericks to take a one-point lead with 3:38 left in the second half. Freshman guard Christopher Speller made a layup on the next possession which gave CMU a three-point lead.
FLC and CMU traded shots in the final two minutes with the Skyhawks getting the last word to tie the game up at 67 with 33 seconds left in the second half.
Blaise Threatt tries to hang his defender up against RU. | Mikayla Olave for The Criterion
Dancer got on the board first in the overtime period with two free throws and FLC quickly tied the game up at 69 points.
The Mavericks were able to get into the paint again and Menzies drew the foul this time and converted both his free-throws to give CMU the lead again.
Dancer got back into the paint as he fought through traffic to get to the rim as he gave CMU another two-point lead.
FLC didn’t go away either as Corey Seng got to the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game back up and send it to another overtime. Seng went one for two at the charity stripe as the Mavericks kept a one-point lead and forced FLC into a must-foul situation.
Freshman guard Reece Johnson received the inbounds pass and was fouled immediately by the Skyhawks. Johnson went to the free-throw line and went one of two from the free-throw line, but he gave CMU a two-point lead with one second left in the game.
FLC was in a situation where they needed the three, and they had to go the entire length of the floor. With one second on the clock, the Skyhawks were forced to take a long three which ended up falling short which allowed CMU to remain undefeated.
Threatt finished as the Mavericks second-leading scorer with 11-points and he pulled down five rebounds in the contest.
CMU’s next game is Saturday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. against Western Colorado University in Gunnison, Colo.
