Grand Junction-Both Colorado Mesa's basketball teams earn wins in overtime over Western State on Senior Night.

Men:
Saturday night's game in Brownson had a lot of meaning; CMU's last home game, Senior Night and a strong push to host an RMAC tournament game. The Mavericks welcomed rival Western State as they were looking for revenge for an earlier loss against Western. After a defensive struggle, the Mavericks were able to beat the Mountaineers in front of a capacity crowd in overtime, 57-54.

“We knew this was going to be a close one,” coach Jim Heaps said. “A bad win is always better than a good loss.”

Both teams struggled to score in the first 10 minutes as each team went 1-15 to start the game. After the Mavs scored their fifth point, the Maverick bench was given a technical foul after the student section tossed toilet paper onto the court. WSC hit one of two free throws to go up 7-5. The Mountaineers built a 19-13 lead, but the Mavs charged back to take a lead with under a minute to go in the half. The teams exchanged baskets and the score was tied at halftime, 22-22.

Kevin Screen scored seven points for the Mavs while pulling down four rebounds in the first half. Michael Bear had four points and a rebound as Shawn King also had four points with five boards. The Maverick offense shot just 22 percent from the field, going 7-32. WSC shot 33 percent and were able to knock down a couple three's to keep it a tight ball game.

The second half started with a quick time out by the Mavs as the Mountaineers hit two three's. The Mavs pulled it together quickly as they were able to build a four point lead at 38-34. After WSC tied it at 38 apiece, the defenses of both squads stood strong again. Each team struggled to score as the score was 44-42 with under a minute to go. WSC scored to tie the game at 44 with the Mavs in possession of the ball for the final seconds. Daniel Estes took the shot, but it bounced out. Just like the ladies just hours before, the Mavericks went to overtime.

The Mavs hit the first three shots to go up 51-47, but the Mountaineers scored five straight points to take a one point lead. Bear's free throws put the Mavs back up 53-52 with 1:30 to go. Kevin Screen hit a jumper with under 30 seconds to go to put the Mavs up three. Nate Nelson was able to seal the game and the Mavs were victorious, 57-54.

Despite fouling out, Jeff Hart put in a team high 13 points for the Mavs. Screen finished with 11 points and five rebounds. With only two points, Chandler Burgon pulled down 10 rebounds as the Mavs outrebounded WSC 51-47, including 17 offensive boards.

With the win, the Mavs improved to 14-10 on the season and 12-8 in conference play. CMU will finish off the season on the road as they travel to play Adams State and Fort Lewis next weekend.

Women:
With the final home weekend upon us, the Mavericks were still in the thick of things in postseason possibilities in the RMAC. With the seniors being honored and rival Western State in the building, a win Saturday night would be crucial for the Mavs. With the Mountaineers jumping out early, the Mavs were able to jump back and take the close win in overtime, 71-70

“We haven't been able to win close games this season,” Kelsey Sigl said. “Winning this one tells us that we are able to win these kinds of games. We were able to buckle down.”

Western State jumped on top early, starting the game on a 7-0 run. With the Mavs cutting the lead to three, WSC went on another run to go up 20-6 before the Mavs could score again. A lay in by Sigl and a three by Tara Gehring cut the margin to nine, before Sigl's three brought the Mavs within six at 24-18. After the two teams exchanged baskets to finish the half, the Mavs were able to pull within three points, trailing 28-25 at the half.

Sigl led all scorers with 11 first half points as she also pulled in four rebounds. Katrina Selsor added four points and four rebounds as Amy Weitzeil added five points of her own. As a team, the Mavs shot just 31 percent from the field, but the defense was able to cool down the Mountaineer offense, holding them to just 27 percent shooting.

The Mavs started out the second half on a 4-0 run to take their first lead at 29-28. The two teams then exchanged baskets the first five minutes of the half. The Mavs were able to push the lead to four behind two Gehring three point shots. The teams were able to match each other's shots, and with 10 minutes to go in half, the game was tied at 46.

Both defenses stepped up in the final minutes. After a questionable call, Walters was given a technical foul, but that may have fired up the squad. After the technical, Sigl hit a three to put the Mavs up two points with five minutes remaining.

“It pumped us up a bit and let us know that we can't worry about the refs anymore,” Gehring said.

With the scored tied at 58 with 2:30 to go, Sigl and Gehring hit free throws to put the Mavs up three with 1:20 remaining. And then with just 1:01 to go, Sigl hit a big shot in the post while she was fouled to put the Mavs on top by three. Free throws by Selsor put the Mavs up by two possessions. WSC hit a three to bring them back within two, and then hit the game-tying three with 2.6 seconds to go, sending the game into overtime tied at 66.

Each team started the extra period with a basket and a turnover. Sigl gave the Mavs their first overtime lead with a free throw with under two minutes to go. The Mavs kept that same lead with just 26 seconds to go in overtime. Mountaineers had the final shot, but they couldn't win it. The Mavericks won the game 71-70.

“We just had heart on defense,” Gehring said. “We just played with heart at the end.”

Sigl had a double-double for the Mavs, putting up 26 points, including the game-winning free throw, and brought in 11 rebounds. Selsor had 11 points and six rebounds as Gehring had 11 points, four rebounds and five assists in her final home game. Hannah Bowden did the dirty work down low for the Mavs, pulling down 11 rebounds and putting up six points.

With the win, the Mavs improve to 12-12 overall and 10-10 in RMAC play. The ladies have just one more weekend of basketball, starting Friday night at Adams State and ending Saturday night at Fort Lewis.

Courtesy:MesaMavs.com