The Mavericks lost 54-74 in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Regional Tournament Semifinal as they will end the season with a record of 21-2.
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) came into this game as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation. Senior guard Jared Small led the Mavericks in scoring with 17 points.
Ezekial Alley scored a career-high and game-high 30 points along with two assists.
The Mavericks got on the board first as senior guard Georgie Dancer drew a foul and went to the free-throw line to go two-for-two. George Reidy hit a three-pointer for Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) to put them up by one.
Sophomore forward Ethan Menzies took the lead back for CMU as he got into the paint to convert a layup.
The Nighthawks scored 15 unanswered points to give themselves a 14-point lead with 12:36 left in the first half.
The Mavericks worked tirelessly to get the Nighthawks lead under 10 points for the majority of the first half. With 2:59 left in the first half, freshman forward Trevor Baskin did just that as he was able to convert a fast break jumper.
Reidy made a three to put the Nighthawks back up to double digits with 2:09 remaining in the first half. CMU cut the Nighthawks lead to seven points as Dancer got into the paint on the fast break to hit a floater.
Alley hit a three with three seconds left in the first half to give NNU a ten-point lead going into halftime.
The Nighthawks were first to score in the second half, but the Mavericks answered with four straight points to bring them within eight points. Both teams traded shots for the opening ten minutes of the second half.
Baskin cut the Nighthawks lead down to 10 points as he found a seam in the paint and dunked it off an assist from freshman guard Christopher Speller.
NNU separated from CMU after Baskin’s dunk as the Nighthawks built a 22-point lead with 6:23 left in the game. The Mavericks were able to cut NNU’s lead down to 18 points as freshman guard Blaise Threatt got into the paint to finish through contact and draw the foul.
Threatt went to the free-throw line to convert the three-point play with 1:59 left in the game. Both teams traded baskets until Reidy scored the final points of the game to put NNU up 20 as he hit a three-pointer with 1:11 left in the game.
Menzies finished the game with 12 rebounds and six points for the Mavericks.
The Nighthawks finished the game with 15 steals and four blocks.
CMU finished the game shooting 36.7% from the floor and they shot 15% from behind the arc.
The Mavericks season ends with their loss to the Nighthawks in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Regional Tournament Semifinals. The Nighthawks will now take on the Colorado School of Mines in the regional championship game.
