By Jordan Long
One of the best seasons in Colorado Mesa University Men’s Basketball history is now over. Mesa ended the year with an impressive 21-2 record. They lost in the second round of the NCAA Division 2 Tournament.
Colorado Mesa headed to Golden, Colorado for the NCAA Division 2 regionals not only as RMAC champions but the #1 ranked team in all of Division 2 basketball. They basically had a target on their back. Whoever they played wanted to knock the #1 team off.
The Mavericks earned a bye in the first-round along with the #2 seed in the region Colorado School of Mines. They both waited for their opponent on Saturday. Colorado Mesa faced the #5 seed Northwest Nazarene University who had beaten Point Loma 85-73 to face Colorado Mesa.
Mesa hadn’t played a game for a week while Northwest Nazarene had the advantage. Colorado Mesa was anticipating they wouldn’t come out rusty. It didn’t start well for Colorado Mesa. They went up 2-0 on free throws by Georgie Dancer. After that, it was all Northwest Nazarene who went on an 18-4 run. Mesa tried to come back but once the first half horn sounded, they were staring at a 34-24 deficit.
Colorado Mesa knew going down ten was not ideal but it was still possible for them to come back. They needed to go on a scoring run and play defense to force missed shots and fast break opportunities. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Northwest Nazarene kept making their shots in the second half, outscoring Colorado Mesa 40-30. Northwest Nazarene moved on with a 74-54 victory, ending Mesa’s historic season.
The difference in this game came down to shooting. Northwest Nazarene was an impressive 11 of 22 or shooting 50% behind the arc while Mesa couldn’t find their 3 point touch. Colorado Mesa was 3 of 20 or 15%. Colorado Mesa shot 36.2% in the game while Northwest Nazarene ended up at 43.9%.
Colorado Mesa tried to play defense and steal the ball. They weren’t able to as often as Northwest Nazarene. Colorado Mesa forced 7 while Northwest Nazarene had 15. Colorado Mesa couldn’t stop Northwest Nazarene. It looked like the fact Northwest Nazarene was able to play one game in the Division 2 tournament gave them confidence. Colorado Mesa never found their game. In the end, Northwest Nazarene moves on to face Colorado School of Mines in the third-round while Colorado Mesa ends their season.
It was a disappointing finish for Colorado Mesa but they achieved a lot this year. They won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for the 2nd year in a row and were able to play in the Division 2 NCAA Basketball Tournament. Last year the tournament wasn’t played due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. This is a stepping-stone for the program. The goal next season will be to win the RMAC yet again but if they don’t, make the NCAA Tournament. Once Colorado Mesa is in the Division 2 Tournament, they need to win a game and go further than they did this year. Colorado Mesa Men’s Basketball team should be proud of what they accomplished this year.
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