The Mavericks can’t lose at home. There’s no way.
And just as everyone was starting to believe in that theory, CSU-Pueblo came into Brownson Arena Tuesday and proved everyone wrong. The ThunderWolves beat Mesa State 65-73 in the opening game of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Shootout tournament. It was the first loss at home this year for the Mavs.
“It’s my fault. I did a poor job getting us ready,” head coach Jim Heaps said. “They (CSU-Pueblo) executed well, the seniors stepped up and they hit shots. They even defended very well. We just never adjusted to it and got back into the game.”
Junior Lance Fite led the Mavs with 19 points, 14 coming in the first half. Mike Dominguez helped out with 15 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
Turnovers killed the team as they committed 16 of them, including giving up a steal with under 25 seconds in the game that eventually led to the ThunderWolves shooting free throws. What could have been the ultimate blow for the Mavs was when guard CSU-Pueblo guard Marc Williams made an easy lay up to put the ThunderWolves up 4, also taking away the momentum the Mavs had started to get.
“Losing this game was just a slap in the face wake up call,” Fite said. “We all knew it was hard to beat a team three times in a season. They just came out and played their style of ball.”
The Mavs will now wait to find out the rankings in the NCAA Central Region. While losing the game was rough because they were knocked out of the tournament, there will likely be no more games at home for the Mavericks.
Depending on the final regional rankings, the road to a national championship will likely go through Minnesota. Currently top ranked Minnesota State Mankato will finish with a better ranking than Mesa State, and will get to host the regional tournament. The Division II Elite Eight tournament to determine the national champion will take place in Springfield, Mass. March 24-27.
“We just have to shake everything off,” Fite said. “We just have to take it one game at a time now. It’s a huge disappointment not playing at home anymore. We love playing and winning in front of the home crowd. We are just players, its up to us on the court to get it done.”

ahimes@mesastate.edu