Illustration by Matt Kroschel/Criterion

Mesa State basketball doesn’t have the most rich, profound history. While the team has always been consistent, if you told me at the beginning of the season that they would only lose six times and advance into the second round of the national tournament, I wouldn’t have bought the idea.
But as the season progressed I became more and more amazed.
When the Mavs lost to Augustana College March 14 at the Central Regional in Minnesota, my heart was as broken as any of the players on the team. A full season of hard work and dedication vanished in a heartbeat. But it’s hard to be too sad. When you take a look back at all the moments and memories, it’s easy to understand how great of a season it really was.
Take a look at Jan. 22 when Mesa State visited Las Vegas, N.M. to take on New Mexico Highlands. Tied game late in the game, senior guard Michael Dominguez, the hometown kid, returned to show the school what they missed when they didn’t recruit him. He took the ball knowing his next shot would decide the game and as time expired, he let one go. As the ball hit the bottom of the net, the true beginning of an amazing run began in conference play.
The definition of “the little train that could” was shown this season when senior Jase Herl laced up. The six foot man didn’t seem like a threat in the key, but rebound after rebound he proved that he was more man than anybody else could handle.
As the team continued to win more and more, fans began to take notice. Attendance increased every game, averaging 1,315 fans per game. It was a fan base that the team loved to play for. Head coach Jim Heaps has even gone out and said that Mesa State has the best fans in the country. The people of Grand Junction brought some sort of magic as the team lost only once at home, going 11-1 at Brownson Arena. The lone loss coming in the first round of the RMAC shootout to CSU-Pueblo.
The team did things for the community that they thought never could happen; they brought everybody together for two hours at a time. Everybody got to enjoy the games, together. Feb. 8 the Mavs took on Fort Lewis College. Mesa State was ranked number one in the region at the time as Fort Lewis was ranked number two. It was a season changing game for both teams. As the time got closer and closer to game time, the seats filled up more and more. In fact, no more people could fit inside the arena. More than two thousand fans came out to watch the Mavericks beat the Skyhawks 87-80 in an overtime thriller, making it the best night of basketball of the year.
Mesa State’s trophy case was loaded when the season was all said and done, mostly with individual awards. The team won its first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference season title since 1999. The men were ranked in the top ten in the country for the first time ever, peaking at a ranking of seventh. And when the team traveled to Minnesota and beat Winona State on March 13, that was possibly the school’s biggest victory in the history of the program. It was the first time they had ever won a game in the national tournament.
Dominguez brought in many awards, and they were all well deserved. He received the RMAC Player of the Year Award, a unanimous decision for the RMAC All-First team, a member of the All-Tournament team and was invited to play in the Division II All-Star Game in Massachusetts. He lit up the stat sheet in both games of the tournament, including a career high 41 points for him in the losing effort to Augustana. Herl had a quiet tournament, but he was named to the RMAC All First Team as well. Heaps was named RMAC Coach of the Year, which isn’t a surprise as he led the team to its best record in team history.
Yes, the team lost games at the worst times it seemed, but you have to look back at everything they accomplished. It truly excelled in almost every stat you can think of. You also have to take a look into the future. The team is losing seven seniors, all with talent that could make any team great. Next season is going to be tougher only because the leadership will be harder to find. Dominguez and Herl did a great job being leaders this season, but who’s going to fill in next season? Lance Fite is going to be the top candidate for that as he had an amazing junior season, especially in the second half of the season. But no matter what the 2010-2011 season brings us, this season brought us everything a basketball fan can handle. We truly did witness Mesa State history.

ahimes@mesastate.edu