The Mavericks hold on to beat the Thunderwolves 85-75 in their final game before the holiday break.
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) had six different players finish the game with double figures in points as they had a terrific shooting day. The Mavericks shot 57.1% from the field and an even 50% from behind the three-point arc. Their ball movement gave them high percentage shots and it resulted in 19 assists for CMU.
Redshirt freshman guard Mac Riniker led the Mavericks in scoring with 17 points and he shot six for eight from the field in the game. Riniker also made two three-pointers and he pulled down a team-high 7 rebounds against Colorado State University-Pueblo (CSUP).
The game started with both teams trading buckets in the opening five minutes of the game, but the Mavericks were able to build a 12-6 lead. The Thunderwolves scored five straight points to cut their deficit down to one point with 13:46 left in the first half.
Riniker kept the Mavericks on top for the next two minutes, but Lian Ramiro gave CSUP a one-point lead with 11:22 left in the first half. The back-and-forth nature of the game persisted until the Thunderwolves took a six-point lead with 8:35 left in the first half.
The Mavericks cut the deficit down to two points twice in the half, but the Thunderwolves were able to build their lead right back each time. Meekness Payne gave the Thunderwolves their biggest lead of the half of 10 points with 3:09 in the first half.
Redshirt senior guard Georgie Dancer got into the paint on the Maverick’s next possession to cut the lead down to 30-38. Payne answered with a jumper of his own for the Thunderwolves. Redshirt senior guard Jared Small then cut the CSUP lead down to eight points as he got into the paint to finish through traffic.
Redshirt freshman guard/forward Owen Koonce stole the ball with three seconds left in the half and was fouled on his way up for a dunk. He went to the free-throw line and made both shots to bring the Mavericks within six points at the halftime break.
The Mavericks were able to cut the lead down to three points early in the second half as Small buried a three-pointer with 17:30 left in the game. Dancer was then able to cut the CSUP lead down to one point as he carved into the paint to finish at the rim.
Both teams traded a basket before the cycle of the Mavericks taking the lead on a dunk started. Riniker got the cycle started for CMU as he got a full head of steam on the fastbreak to slam a dunk home to give the Mavericks a one-point lead. Elijah Moleon then took the lead back for the Thunderwolves with a layup, but this time it was Small who took the lead back with a dunk.
The Thunderwolves were quick to take the lead back before Baskin was the beneficiary of the dunk to take a one-point lead for the Mavericks. The back-and-forth style and cycle of the game persisted until the 7:28 mark of the second half.
Small gave CMU a one-point lead as he was able to hit a jump-shot over his defender with 7:28 left. After Small basket, the Mavericks scored 11 straight points to build a 75-63 lead with 3:29 left in the game.
The Thunderwolves answered with six straight points of their own to cut the CMU lead down to six points. With under a minute left in the game, the Thunderwolves were forced to foul the Mavericks each time they touched the ball to try to give themselves a chance to win the game.
To close out the game, the Mavericks went 10 for 10 from the free-throw line to close out the game and win 85-75.
Small and redshirt freshman guard Reece Johnson were CMU’s second-leading scorers as they both scored 14 points in the game. Both Johnson and Small also hit two three-pointers against the Thunderwolves.
The Mavericks scored 46 points in the paint and they got 27 points from their bench in the game.
There were 15 lead changes in the game and there were four ties as the style of this game was back-and-forth the entire time.
The Maverick’s next game is on New Year’s Eve on Dec. 31 at 5:00 p.m. against the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.
