The Mavericks win their 16 straight home game and their fourth consecutive home opener with their 94-56 over the Saints.
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) shot 61.7% from the field and they shot 47.4% from behind the three-point arc. It was the Maverick’s third consecutive victory in which they scored 90 or more points. The Mavericks had five different players that scored in double-figures.
Redshirt freshman forward Trevor Baskin finished with a double-double in the game as he scored 20 points and 10 rebounds. It was Baskin’s third double-double of the season and his 20 points were a season-high. He also blocked five shots in the game.
“After the season ended, I know there was a lot of polishing that I wanted to work on with my game. Handling the ball, shooting. I couldn’t wait for summer to come so that I get in the gym, shoot and work on everything,” Baskin said.
Coming into the season, I’ve always enjoyed blocking shots, I was good at it in high school with my length because people don’t expect it sometimes. Timing is a big thing, but I really just worked on my game all around, trying to shoot. Didn’t make my threes today but they felt good so that’s all you can really ask for. I was constantly tinkering away at my game and I’m always finding something to work on.”
Redshirt senior guard Jared Small was CMU’s second-leading scorer in the game with 16 points and he went six for nine from the field. Small pulled down five rebounds and dished out four assists in the game.
The opening five minutes of the game went back-and-forth as both teams were getting to their sweet spots and found themselves tied at 11. Our Lady of the Lake University’s (OLLU) offense continued to find their spots as they were able to pull ahead by four points with 10:27 left in the first half.
The Mavericks then scored 15 straight points to take a 30-19 lead just three minutes later. CMU continued to roll offensively as they finished the first half with a 43-29 lead.
Baskin scored 13 of his 20 points in the first half and blocked two shots in the half as well. Redshirt freshman guard Mac Riniker scored 11 points in the first half and pulled down four rebounds to help CMU to their 14-point lead.
“It’s really nice to have that [versatility] this year and I’ve gotten a little bit better. I really like that and it’s nice that we have guards that can shoot and knock down shots to force their defense to stick to them on the outside where they have open gaps,” Riniker said.
CMU continued to roll in the opening five minutes of the second half as they built their lead to 23 points as redshirt freshman guard Blaise Threatt carved into the paint to finish at the rim.
The Mavericks went on a 17 to seven run in the next five minutes of the game to up by 30 points.
The final ten minutes of the half saw CMU continue to control the game as they finished with a 38-point lead.
CMU scored 52 points in the paint and they scored 31 points off of turnovers against the Saints. The Mavericks finished the game with 10 steals and nine blocks.
“We are just so multi-dimensional. Everybody we put on the floor is a multi-dimensional defender and offensive player. We really had to tweak what we were doing offensively just so that we can take advantage of our personnel a little bit better just because everybody is so capable,” DeGeorge said. “That’s also true at the defensive end, we can switch any ball screen we want with most teams, our guards can hold their own in the post and our bigs can guard on the perimeter.”
Riniker finished the game with 13 points and he went four for five from the field. He made one three-pointer and blocked three shots in the game as well.
The Maverick’s next game is Saturday, Nov. 27 at 7:00 p.m. against Simon Fraser University in their final game of the Holiday Inn-Airport Thanksgiving Classic.
