The Mavericks take down the Yellow Jackets 81-71 with just eight players available to finish the season series 1-1 with the Yellow Jackets.
Redshirt freshman forward Trevor Baskin recorded a career-high of 33 points against the Yellow Jackets. He also recorded a career-high in field goals made and attempted, three-pointers made and attempted and free-throws made and attempted. He pulled down eight rebounds in the game as well.
Redshirt freshman guard Blaise Threatt scored 22 points and he shot eight of 14 from the field in the game. Threatt pulled down six rebounds and recorded two steals against the Yellow Jackets.
The game opened with both teams trading baskets as they found themselves tied at six with 17:51 left in the first half. The Mavericks were able to take a six-point lead two minutes later as Threatt carved into the paint to finish at the rim.
Black Hills State University (BHSU) whittled the lead down and took the lead with 13:25 left in the first half as Ryder Kirsch got into the paint to convert through traffic. CMU answered with an eight to two run to take a five-point lead with 10:18 left in the first half.
The Yellow Jackets’ offense answered with a run of their own to take the lead back with 6:14 left in the half. The back-and-forth nature of the game persisted as each team traded the lead before the Yellow Jacket’s offense got in rhythm to finish the first half with a 40-33 lead.
The Mavericks opened the second half by letting their defense fuel their offense as they went on an 11 to nothing run in the opening five minutes of the half. Tommy Donovan then got to the free-throw line for BHSU and went one of two to bring the Yellow Jackets within three points.
Redshirt freshman guard Reece Johnson got into the paint on the next possession and backed down his defender to finish at the rim. Adam Moussa immediately came back with a jumper of his own to bring BHSU within three points with 14:22 left in the game.
There was a four-minute scoring drought before Baskin recorded a three-point play as he finished at the rim, drew a foul and converted at the free-throw line. With 10:10 left in the game, the Mavericks held a 51-45 lead.
Both teams traded baskets for the next five minutes of the game as the Mavericks kept their lead at five points with 5:47 left in the game. Baskin scored five straight points for the Mavericks as he hit a three-pointer and a jumper to put CMU up by 10 with 4:09 left in the game.
Threatt and redshirt senior guard Jared Small both hit jump shots to put CMU up 72-58. The Yellow Jackets scored four straight points to try to answer the Mavericks and get back in the game as Joel Scott cut the lead down to 10 points.
The Mavericks held strong to close out the game as they went seven of eight from the free-throw line in the final minute of the game to pull out the 81-71 victory.
CMU shot 50.8% from the field and they shot 37.5% from behind the three-point arc. The Mavericks also scored 44 points in the paint in the game, and they got 22 points from their short bench against the Yellow Jackets.
Redshirt freshman guard Mac Riniker finished the game with 10 rebounds, and he scored six points in the game as well.
The Maverick’s next game is Friday, Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. against Metro State University-Denver in Brownson Arena.
