Mavericks ring in the New Year with two wins

Josh Coleman • January 2, 2022

The Mavericks improved to 11-5 on the year as they won both games on the road over New Year’s Weekend.

CMU pulled out a hard-fought 78-71 win over the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (UCCS) on Dec. 31. They followed it up with an 85-61 win over New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) on Jan. 1.

Redshirt senior guard Jared Small gave Colorado Mesa University (CMU) a big lift offensively scoring 20 or more points on back-to-back nights. Small pulled down 12 rebounds in the Mavericks pair of victories to ring in the new year.

Georgie Dancer drives into the lane against Adams State University on Dec. 17. | *Brenna Barkley for The Criterion*

The opening five minutes of the game against UCCS went back-and-forth as CMU held a 12-11 lead. Redshirt senior guard Georgie Dancer then scored five straight points in the game to take a 17-14 lead with 13:48 left in the first half.

The Mountain Lions took a one-point lead with 8:24 left in the first half as Alijah Comithier nailed a jump shot. Redshirt freshman forward Trevor Baskin scored five straight points to take the lead right back for CMU.

Both teams continued to battle down the stretch of the first half, but the Mountain Lions held a 36-31 lead at the end of the first half.

The Maverick’s offense exploded in the second half against UCCS as they outscored the Mountain Lions 47-35 to win the game.

With 15:24 left in the game, CMU took the lead back as Dancer found Baskin in the paint to convert at the rim. Both teams traded baskets and the lead for the next five minutes of the game as the Mavericks held a 51-48 lead with 10:13 left in the game.

The Mavericks kept the Mountain Lions at bay as they held a 62-56 lead with 5:03 left in the game. CMU did the same as time continued to tick away as Small carved his way into the paint to finish at the rim to give the Mavericks a seven-point lead with 2:03 left in the game.

CMU closed out the game at the free-throw line as the Mountain Lions were forced to foul CMU to try to extend the game. CMU went eight of 14 at the free-throw line to win the game 78-71.

The Mavericks shot 47.4% from the field in the game and 72% from the free-throw line in the game. CMU had five different players finish the game with double-digit points in the game.

Dancer finished the game with 20 points as he shot seven of 10 from the field in the game. He pulled down six rebounds and dished out five assists to help lift the Mavericks over the Mountain Lions.

In the second game of the Maverick’s road trip, CMU went down to Las Vegas, N.M. to take on the Cowboys. They had another good shooting night as they finished the game shooting 54.7% from the field and they scored 52 points in the paint against NMHU.

Small led the Mavericks in scoring with 22 points and he was on fire from behind the three-point arc as he shot six of nine from deep. He finished the game shooting eight of 13 from the field to help lift the Mavericks over NMHU.

The Mavericks took an 8-5 lead in the opening five minutes of the game, but they were able to build their to 10 points just two minutes later. Redshirt freshman guard Levi Dombro got into the paint to finish at the rim, and he drew a foul on the play. Dombro converted the and one free-throw line to put CMU up 15-5 with 13:08 left in the first half.

Jared Small attempts to find a teammate beyond the three-point arc against Black Hills State University on Dec. 10. | *Brenna Barkley for The Criterion*

Both teams traded baskets for the next three minutes of the first half, but Small kept the Mavericks lead at double-digits as he buried a shot from beyond the three-point arc. The Cowboy’s offense was able to cut the Mavericks lead down to one point with 5:13 left in the first half.

The Mavericks answered with six straight points to push their lead back up to seven points with 3:55 left in the first half. CMU ended the first half on a roll offensively as they held a 41-28 lead going into the halftime break.

The second half opened with both teams trading baskets, but the Mavericks held a 16-point lead after the opening five minutes. That trend continued for the next five minutes as well as the Mavericks held a 62-46 lead with 10:18 left in the game.

CMU’s offense separated even more from the Cowboys as they built a 24-point lead with 5:10 remaining in the game.

Both teams traded a couple of baskets as the final minutes ticked off the game clock as the Mavericks earned an 85-61 victory over NMHU.

Redshirt freshman forward Mac Riniker finished the game with a double-double as he scored 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the game. Riniker went seven for 11 from the field in the game as he was the Maverick’s second-leading scorer.

CMU’s next game is Saturday, Jan. 8 at 6:00 p.m. against Black Hills State University in Spearfish, S.D.

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