The Mavericks fall 72-63 to the Buffs in the season opener in a top-five matchup in the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic.
West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) entered the game as the No. 3 team in the nation while the Mavericks were the No. 4 team in the nation.
Redshirt freshman guard/forward Owen Koonce finished in his first game in a Mavericks uniform with a double-double. Koonce transferred from Colorado University-Boulder transfer and recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds in his first game since transferring.
Redshirt senior guard Georgie Dancer was the other scorer in double figures for the Mavericks as he finished with 10 points. He also recorded three rebounds and two assists for Colorado Mesa University (CMU) in the game.
The Buffs and the Mavericks battled in the opening five minutes of the first half as CMU held a 12-10 lead. Both teams continued to exchange their shots as the Buffs tied the game up at 12 less than a minute later, but redshirt freshman guard Christopher Speller gave CMU a two-point lead.
Julius Brown stopped and popped to nail a three-pointer to put the Buffs up 15-14 with 12:13 left in the first half. Jesse Iweze kept the Buffs on top as he went two for two from the free-throw line.
Each team continued to battle, but the Mavericks took the lead back with 7:46 as redshirt senior guard Jared Small grabbed the rebound off Speller’s missed free throw. Small then kicked the ball out to redshirt freshman guard Reece Johnson who buried a three-pointer to put CMU up 23-20.
Zach Toussaint brought the Buffs within one with a layup thirty seconds later. Johnson and redshirt freshman guard Blaise Threatt put the Mavericks up by five points as they both got into the paint and converted through traffic at the rim.
The Buffs continued to fight back as they took the lead back with 1:15 left in the first half off a second-chance layup from Larry Wise. Brown put WTAMU up by three as he scored off Dancer’s turnover as Brown blew by his defender to convert a layup.
Koonce worked quickly for CMU as he shook his defender to make a jump shot to bring the Mavericks within one point before the first half ended.
The second half opened with Brown getting into the paint before stepping back to nail the jumper over his defender to put the Buffs up by three.
Redshirt freshman forward Trevor Baskin quickly answered with a layup of his own. WTAMU then went on a run, scoring seven straight points to put them up 44-36.
Dancer converted a three-pointer and Koonce slammed a fast-break dunk home to bring the Mavericks within three points. Both teams traded three-pointers back and forth until Baskin brought CMU within one point with 12:02 left in the game.
Toussaint scored seven straight points for the Buffs as he was able to extend their lead with 10:08 left in the game.
Threatt then scored six straight points and Johnson made a hook shot in the paint to bring the Mavericks within three points with 6:58 left in the game. Addison Wallace and Iweze then pushed the WTAMU back up to seven points with back-to-back layups through traffic.
The Buffs ended the game on an eight to five-run that kept the Mavericks at bay to win the game by nine points.
WTAMU had three different scorers finish with double figures with Wise finishing with a game-high 21 points. Wise also recorded eight rebounds in the game.
CMU shot 37.3% from the floor in the game and 56.5% from the free-throw line against the Buffs.
The Maverick’s next game is Saturday, Oct. 30 at 5:30 p.m. against Daemen College in their second game of the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic.
