Over the weekend, the Colorado Mesa University (CMU) basketball teams traveled to the Front Range to play games against the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS), and Regis University.
For the men’s team they went 2-0 beating UCCS 86-70, and Regis 71-65. The weekend did not go as well for the women’s team, losing to UCCS 51-71, and to Regis 64-72.
The Lady Mavericks started out well, with an early 10-4 run to give them the lead. But they were unable to maintain that rate of play, and quickly fell behind, ceding their lead to UCCS late in the first quarter.
CMU was able to match the number of shots taken by UCCS, but no one on the team was able to find the hot hand. The team only shot 16-58 on the night. Along with struggles to clean up the glass on both sides of the ball, CMU left Colorado Springs on a 20 point loss, their biggest all season, and the largest gap since starting Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play.
In the second game, CMU trailed by a few points for the majority of the first half, and Regis went into halftime leading 30-36.
Less than a minute into the third quarter, Sophomore Kylie Kravig hit a 2 point jumper in the paint that started a CMU comeback attempt. Through the third quarter, CMU closed the gap, and were able to take their first lead of the game, going up at the end of the third 53-52.
The lead was short lived as Regis went to reclaim it on their first possession of the fourth quarter. Regis held CMU to just 11 points in the last period and the women’s team was left with their fourth straight loss against RMAC opponents.
While the women’s team took two tough losses, the men’s team came away with two big RMAC wins.
Against UCCS, both teams traded the lead multiple times in the early moments of the first half. With about seven minutes left in the first half the Mavs trailed by one, but then went on a blistering 17-0 scoring run to take a convincing lead.
CMU carried the momentum into the second half and won relatively easily, leading by as many as 27 points. Redshirt sophomore Mac Riniker had a career night with 21 points on a perfect 8/8 shooting. Fellow redshirt sophomore Blaisse Threatt finished with 24 points and six assists in the win. After the dominant win against UCCS, the men’s team had to re-focus to play Regis the following night.
However, the hot shooting stopped for CMU after halftime and Regis was able to get back into the game. Regis head coach Brady Bergeson turned to his bench to provide the spark for the team, and their bench finished with 46 points.
Regis carried their hot scoring from the bench and grabbed their first lead of the game with just over eight minutes remaining.
It looked like Regis had all the momentum, but then Riniker took things into his own hands. The forward started his individual run with a jump shot, and an assist to cut the Regis lead to one. Then, he stole the ball and scored a layup on two consecutive plays to give the Mavs a three point lead.
CMU maintained their small lead, and Threatt scored four free throws to eliminate another comeback for Regis. Threatt finished the game with 17 points, and shot a perfect 9/9 at the free throw line.
Both teams next game is Friday, December 17 against Adams State University. The women’s team plays first at 4:00 P.M. and the men’s team plays at 6:00.