The Mavericks picked up their 17 consecutive home victory with their 80-56 win over Simon Fraser University (SFU).
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) shot 64% from the field and 50% from behind the three-point arc. They were 32 of 50 from the floor and they made 16 shots in each half.
Redshirt freshman guard/forward Owen Koonce scored a career-high 20 points which were also a game-high. Koonce shot eight for nine from the field including four three-pointers and he made three of his shots from behind the arc consecutively.
“I noticed tonight that we were definitely moving it around a lot more, sharing the ball. We passed like 20 times one possession to get an open look and we passed up a few good looks to get a great look. That’s something that’s going to help us throughout the season and something we are focusing on,” Koonce said.
Redshirt freshman guard Blaise Threatt was the second-leading scorer for CMU with 13 points. Threatt pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and he dished out five assists in the game.
The game started with both teams trading baskets as each time the Mavericks scored, Jasdeep Singh answered with a three-pointer to keep the game close. With 15:39 left in the first half, redshirt freshman forward guard Mac Riniker stole the ball and charged down the floor for his first dunk of the game.
Singh then answered with his third consecutive shot from behind the arc, but he didn’t make a shot for the rest of the game as he finished the game shooting three for 15 from the field.
Redshirt freshman guard Reece Johnson then hit a three-pointer of his own to put CMU up 14-9 with 13:59 left in the half. SFU scored four straight points to bring the game within one point, but Koonce answered with his first three of the game.
With 11:52 left in the first half, Riniker got the ball on the fastbreak, and with two defenders in front of him, he turned on the jets. He split the two defenders to slam home a posterizing dunk that sent the fans in Brownson Arena crazy.
The Mavericks offense then went on a 14 to five-run to put themselves up 31-18 in the first half. SFU was able to cut the CMU lead under 10 points twice in the final five minutes of the game, but the Mavericks finished the first half with an 11-point lead.
Threatt scored 10 of his 13 points in the game in the first half of the game as he shot four for six from the field.
The Mavericks shot 59.3% from the field and 54.5% from behind the three-point arc in the first half.
“We shot the heck out of it and being home is nice. Being with comfortable balls, and settings is nice and I thought that it was reflective in how we shot this weekend. We’re getting good shots that also was a key component,” Head Coach Mike DeGeorge.
CMU and SFU traded baskets in the opening five minutes of the second half as the Mavericks held a 49-34 lead.
Redshirt freshman forward Trevor Baskin caught the ball on a fastbreak and carved his way through traffic to finish at the rim. Baskin’s basket set up a 10-point run for the Mavericks that was backed by three baskets from behind the arc and put CMU up by 27-points.
SFU was able to cut the lead down to 21-points with 4:59 left in the game, but it was too little, too late. The Maverick’s offense came back to keep their lead hovering around 25 points to win 80-56.
Koonce scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half and he pulled down three rebounds as well.
Riniker finished the game with seven points and he pulled down five rebounds in the game. He also finished the game with four steals and he blocked one shot against SFU.
“I was just trying to get [Singh] as far out of the paint as I could so that I could play some one-on-one defense, and wait for the defense to dig so that was the gameplan with the bigs,” Riniker said.
Johnson was the other double-digit scorer for CMU with 10 points and he shot a perfect four for four from the field including two three-pointers.
The Maverick’s next game is Saturday, Dec. 4 at 3:30 p.m. against Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colo.
