by Bryce Reedy
Colorado Mesa University’s men’s basketball team was looking to keep their playoff hopes alive after falling at home to Westminster. But the team was going to have to do it on the road against Adams State University and Fort Lewis College.
The first test was against the Grizzlies down in Alamosa, Colo. on Friday. Despite falling behind 39-30 at the half, the Mavericks came storming back to take the 65-64 lead with 3:21 left to play courtesy of a Kabir West three. However, the lead was short-lived as Adams State came right back with a jumper of their own to go on top by one.
The Grizzlies would hold onto that slim lead for the remaining two minutes of the matchup to win the game 70-67. CMU had three players in double figures, Eimer Lopez (14), CJ Davis (13) and West (11).
Offensive rebounds were a problem all night for the Mavericks as they allowed the Grizzlies to haul in 13 on the night, which accounted for 10-second chance points.
With the loss, the Mavericks had to kick it into high gear, but it wasn’t going to come easy on Saturday as they were facing off against the 21-3 Skyhawks of Fort Lewis. The Skyhawks entered the weekend the top team in the conference and the number 12 team in the nation.
CMU lost at home earlier in the season, so they were hoping to get some payback on their home court. That was not the case on Saturday night as the Skyhawks jumped out on the Mavericks and took a 14 point lead into the half. The second half was not much better for CMU as they found themselves on the losing end for the third consecutive game 90-71.
The Mavericks had struggles on both ends of the court throughout the game, allowing Fort Lewis to shoot 50 percent from the field on 65 attempts, including 12 three-pointers on the night. Meanwhile, CMU’s offense was unable to get into any kind of rhythm offensively shooting only 39 percent on the night.
One bright spot for the Mavericks offensively was West who came off the bench to score 18 points on 8-11 shooting from the field. The Skyhawks, however, had three players with 18 or more points on the night.
With the loss, the Mavericks moved to 7-18 on the season and 6-13 in the conference. CMU currently sits 12 in the RMAC and is three games behind the eight-seeded Colorado Christian with three games remaining on the schedule.
The Mavericks will finish out the season at home, with their first matchup coming on Saturday against Black Hills State University. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at Brownson Arena.
