The Mavericks win 81-80 over the Rangers in overtime as senior guard Jared Small hit the game-winner with 4.6 seconds left in the game.
Small caught the ball on top of the three-point arc, pump-faked the shot and drove to his right. As he got into the paint the help side defender for the Rangers was reluctant to help off of sophomore forward Ethan Menzies.
That gave Small an open lane to the basket and he converted the layup to win the game for Colorado Mesa University (CMU).
Small finished the game with 16 points on six of nine shooting from the floor.
Menzies registered a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Menzies had scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the first half alone. His dominance in the paint in the first half opened up lanes for CMU’s guards that weren’t open at the start of the game.
The Mavericks closed the first half with Small hitting a fadeaway three-pointer at the buzzer which swung all the momentum in CMU’s favor.
“[The buzzer beater] definitely was a confidence booster, it helped. My shot just wasn’t falling early so to see that ball go through, it’s just a good feeling, it gives you that rhythm and helps you come out and hit some more shots,” Small said.
CMU opened the second half with a 35-29 lead, but Regis University (RU) struck first in the half. The Rangers scored the first two baskets of the half, but the Mavericks came back with five points of their own.
The Mavericks built a ten-point lead with 14:54 left in the second half. RU immediately got to work and cut CMU’s lead down to three-points with 13:05 left in the half.
RU worked tirelessly to keep CMU in reach and the Rangers were successful because of their high shooting percentages. The Rangers shot 51.6 percent from the floor and 50 percent from beyond the arc in the second half.
With 5:07 left in the game, the momentum shifted in the Maverick’s direction for just a moment. Redshirt freshman guard Mac Riniker stole the ball, stormed down the court and slammed a dunk home over a RU defender which made the arena and fans erupt.
“I know they only said 200 people were allowed in but it felt at least that to me. I thought there were quite a few students there so it was great to see and it was energizing for everybody. It was like nobody could hear each other on those two dunks so that’s a good sign,” DeGeorge said.
The Rangers took a one-point lead two minutes later, but Riniker tied the game up at 66 with a made free throw. Troy Brady gave RU a three-point lead as he made a shot from behind the arc with 1:35 left in the second half.
Small tied the game up 23 seconds later as he hit his third three of the second half to send the game into overtime.
Senior guard Georgie Dancer scored all six of his points in the five-minute overtime period to help the Mavericks win.
Dancer helped CMU take the lead in overtime on three possessions as he got to the free-throw line twice and made all four. On the third possession, Dancer got into the paint and converted the layup in traffic to give the Mavericks a four-point lead.
“I thought Georgie did a great job. Their ball screen defense was really bothering us in the first half and it really slowed us down offensively,” Head Coach Mike DeGeorge said.
“He really just got us settled down and got in some very good actions that generated some offense for us early in the second half that made a huge difference. He just is the steadying force with this team and his presence has been incredibly important,” DeGeorge said.
The Rangers again cut CMU’s lead back down to one-point with 1:13 left in overtime. RU’s Brian Dawson made a layup to give the Rangers a one-point lead with 26 seconds left.
The Mavericks had the ball for one final shot in the game as the 30-second shot clock was turned off. CMU swung the ball and it made it to Small on the perimeter who drove in to convert the layup and win the game for the Mavericks.
Freshman guard Blaise Threatt was the Mavericks third-leading scorer finishing with 12 points in 19 minutes of playing time.
Dawson scored a game-high 29 points and he finished with 7 assists in the contest for the Rangers.
The Maverick’s next game will be Friday, Jan. 29 at 7:30 p.m. against Fort Lewis College to start their next road trip.
