The Mavericks hung on to beat the Mountaineers 62-57 to win their seventh consecutive game.
Redshirt senior guard Jared Small scored a game-high 18 points and he shot 50% from the field against the Mountaineers.
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) shot 38.6% from the field and 21.7% from behind the three-point arc. They scored 32 points in the paint and 27 points off turnovers.
Western Colorado University (WCU) got on the scoreboard first in the game, but the Mavericks answered with eight consecutive points to take the lead with 18:53 left in the first half. There was a four-minute scoring drought for both teams before Matthew Ragsdale carved into the paint to finish at the rim with 14:35 left in the half.
Jaelan McCloud cut CMU’s lead down to one point as he buried a three-pointer off an assist from Cole Sienknecht. Redshirt senior guard Georgie Dancer and Small came back with a three-pointer and a layup to put the Mavericks up six points with 10:02 left in the first half.
The Mountaineers came back with their own mini-run to take a two-point lead four minutes later. Redshirt freshman guard Reece Johnson answered with a bucket of his own to tie the game at 19.
Both teams battled for momentum as the lead changed three times in the final five minutes of the first half.
Ragsdale tied the game at 26 with 2:22 left in the first half as he buried a fast break three-pointer. Will Willis and Sienknecht gave WCU gave WCU a five-point lead to go into the halftime break.
Ragsdale opened the second half by carving into the paint to finish at the rim to give the Mountaineers a seven-point lead. Redshirt freshman forward Trevor Baskin hit a shot from beyond the three-point arc and Small slammed a dunk home on the fast break to bring CMU within two points.
Baskin took the lead back for CMU as he got into the paint to finish at the rim and give CMU a 36-35 lead. Both teams traded baskets as the game was tied at 39 with 13:46 left in the game.
The Mavericks built up a five-point lead a minute later as Small hit his lone three-pointer of the game. The Mountaineers tried to take the lead back, but the Mavericks had an answer each time as Small gave CMU a 48-42 lead with 9:26 left in the game.
WCU answered with five consecutive points to cut CMU’s lead to two points two minutes later.
CMU continued to execute offensively as they again lifted their lead back to seven points as Baskin hit both free throws with 4:28 left in the game. Both teams experienced a two-and-a-half-minute-long scoring drought before Willis cut the lead down to four points at the free-throw line.
CMU went four for four from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds of the game to hold on to win 62-57 over the Mountaineers.
Baskin finished the game with 14 points and was CMU’s second-leading scorer. He pulled down six rebounds and compiled three steals in the game
The Maverick’s final regular season is Saturday, Feb. 26 at 7:00 p.m. against Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo.
