The Mavericks end their opening weekend 1-2

Josh Coleman • November 1, 2021

The Mavericks fell to 1-2 on the season with a 71-81 loss to the Dragons in their final game of the D2CCA Tip-Off Tournament.

Redshirt freshman guard Mac Riniker led the Mavericks in scoring for the second straight game. Riniker scored 20 points and he pulled down five rebounds in the game as well. He shot 57% from the floor against the Dragons and made two shots from behind the three-point arc in the game.

Redshirt freshman guard/forward Owen Koonce was the Maverick’s second-leading scorer with 17 points. He shot seven for nine from the field and shot 75% percent from behind the three-point arc.

Mac Riniker gets into the paint to try to take a shot over a taller defender for the Regis Rangers. | *The Criterion Stock Photo*

Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) scored the first four points of the game. Redshirt senior guard Jared Small hit a jumper, and Riniker got into the paint to slam a dunk home to tie the game up at four.

Lorenzo McGhee was fouled by redshirt freshman guard Christopher Speller and hit both free throws. Riniker answered by getting back into the paint to slam another dunk home to tie the game back up.

The Dragons again got to the free-throw line and made both shots, followed up by a made jump shot from Bryce Irsfeld to put MSUM up 10-6.

Speller got to the line with 14:22 left in the first half and went one for two to bring Colorado Mesa University (CMU) within three points. MSUM scored six straight points to take a 16-7 lead with 12:15 left in the first half.

Redshirt freshman guard Isaac Jessup stopped the Dragons run with a three-pointer, but Irsfeld pushed MSUM’s lead back to eight as he sliced into the paint for a layup.

Small came back with another three-pointer for CMU to bring them within five points. Each team traded baskets as they battled for momentum in the game, and redshirt freshman guard Blaise Threatt cut the deficit to four points with seven minutes left in the first half.

McGhee answered with a three to put the Dragons up by seven, but Small came back with a three of his own. Both teams went on mini runs, but the Maverick’s seven straight points cut the deficit down to two points as Koonce buried a three-pointer with 3:06 left in the first half.

The Dragon’s final basket of the half came with two minutes left in the game as Irsfeld hit a jump shot to put them up by ten. Redshirt freshman forward Trevor Baskin hit a jump shot off an assist from redshirt freshman guard Reece Johnson with 40 seconds left in the first half.

Baskin then stole the ball from Gatdoar Kueth four seconds later and found Threatt who got fouled in transition by Jesse Bergh. Threatt went to the line and hit both free throws to cut the deficit to 32-38.

MSUM and CMU traded baskets in the opening five minutes of the second half which saw a 13 to nine-run that put MSUM up by 10 points. Bergh pushed the Dragons lead to 12 points as he got into the paint to convert a layup through traffic with 14:12 left in the game.

Riniker cut the Dragons lead back to 10 as he got to the free-throw line and made both shots. Redshirt senior guard Georgie Dancer stole the ball from Gabe Myren, and Baskin dunked the ball to give the Mavericks some momentum with 12:32 left in the game.

Kueth got into the paint on the next possession for MSUM to convert a layup through contact and drew a foul. He went to the free-throw line and made the shot for the and-one play, but Koonce cut the lead back to eight with his third three-pointer of the game.

Blaise Threatt looks to get into the paint on a dribble drive with a defender on his back against the Regis Rangers. | *The Criterion Stock Photo*

The Dragons scored eight straight points to get their biggest lead of the game of 16 points with 8:33 left in the game. The back-and-forth style of play continued as each team traded buckets before Riniker cut the MSUM lead under 10 with 4:45 left in the game as he buried his first three of the game.

Threatt picked up a rebound and raced down the floor to draw a shooting foul on Siman Sem. He hit both shots at the free-throw line to bring CMU within seven points.

Jacob Beeninga pushed the Dragons lead back to 10 with a three-pointer with 4:05 left in the game. Dancer and Riniker cut the lead back down to six points with 1:38 left in the game as they tried to give CMU a chance late in the game.

CMU was forced to foul late in the game sending two different Dragons to the free-throw line, but they went four for four. Threatt quickly got up the floor to make a jump shot in transition, and the Mavericks fouled immediately off the inbounds pass.

The foul sent Irsfeld to the line and he made both free throws with 15 seconds left for the final score of the game.

The Mavericks shot nine for 13 from the free-throw line while the Wildcats were a perfect 17 of 17 in the game. Both teams shot eight for 20 from behind the arc.

The Maverick’s next game is Friday, Nov. 12 at 4:00 p.m. against Dallas Baptist University in Dallas, Texas in the D2 Conference Challenge event.

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