The Maverick’s offense was firing on all cylinders in their 90-45 victory over the Grizzlies.
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) compiled 26 assists in the game which put them in gave them high percentage shots. The Mavericks shot 56.9% from the field and 41.7% from behind the three-point arc.
“We turned the ball over 10 times in the first 12-14 minutes or something and then we had one turnover the rest of the way. Once we started taking better care of the ball, the ball really moved, and I thought that we played in a nice flow,” Head Coach Mike DeGeorge said.
Their switching bogged us down a little bit early but once we got comfortable attacking it, we did a great job on offense. I thought the defense was good all night long, we communicated well and we had good energy.”
Redshirt freshman forward Trevor Baskin led the Mavericks in scoring with 16 points and he dished out a season-high of five assists in the game. Baskin also made his impact felt on the defensive side of the ball as he compiled three steals and two blocks.
Redshirt freshman guard Isaac Jessup scored a season-high 15 points in the game with 10 coming in the second half. He also finished with five steals in the game which is a season-high for Jessup.
Kaelin Crane got Adams State University (ASU) on the board first in the game, but the Mavericks came back with five straight points to take the lead which they never gave back up. Redshirt senior guard Georgie Dancer put the Mavericks up by 4 as he buried a three-pointer with 15:03 left in the first half.
The Mavericks built on that as well as they were able to build a 10-point lead five minutes later.
Both teams traded baskets in the final 10 minutes of the first half as the Maverick’s lead hovered around between 10 and 13 points. CMU finished the half with a 38-26 lead behind their hot shooting.
The Mavericks shot 64% from the field and 57.1% from behind the three-point arc in the first half.
“I think it’s important that everyone was seeing shots go through. I think the big part was the ball was moving and it wasn’t sticking. That made it comfortable for everyone to get their shots up and feel good about it,” redshirt freshman guard Reece Johnson said.
The opening five minutes of the second half were controlled by the Mavericks as they built a 19-point lead.
CMU continued to control the game offensively and defensively as they held ASU to just 10-points in the opening 10 minutes of the second half. On the flip side, the Mavericks built their lead to 62-38 with 10:08 left in the game.
Redshirt freshman guard/forward Owen Koonce and Jessup were some of the catalysts for the Mavericks explosive second half. Both Koonce and Jessup finished the second half with double-digit points.
The final ten minutes of the game was closed out by some guys off the Mavericks bench, but they kept the same scoring output. The Mavericks closed out the game by scoring 28-points to win the game 90-45.
Redshirt freshman guard Reece Johnson scored 13 points in the game, and he shot five for eight from the field including two three-pointers. Johnson pulled down three rebounds and dished out three assists in the Maverick’s win.
CMU scored 54 points in the paint in the game and their bench scored 48 points against ASU. Defensively, the Mavericks finished the game with 15 steals and nine blocks as they hounded the Grizzlies with on-ball and off-ball pressure.
“I think it was more of that swing-first mentality. If we throw the first punch, we see how they react. We knew that being physical with streaky teams and shooters, if they are constantly getting hit and nudged, then they’re not going to be as fresh when they’re shooting. So, I think being physical with them was a big deal,” Baskin said.
The Maverick’s next game is Saturday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. against Colorado State University-Pueblo in their final game before the holiday break.
