GUNNISON – Tuesday evening will mark the kick off of the third conference season for Western State Colorado University men's basketball team under head coach Bradd Schafer. Western will host Colorado Mesa University at 7:30 p.m. following the women's game in Paul Wright Gymnasium.
 
The Mountaineers are coming off of two losses in the Holiday Inn and Suites Thanksgiving Classic in Grand Junction. Western fell to No.20-ranked Midwestern State University by a dozen, then fell to Montana State University Billings by 11 points.
 
Western has been led by transfer Collin Smith, who is averaging nearly 15 points per game. Also joining him are guard Ben Beauchamp with nearly 14 points per game and Patrick Sniff with 10 points per game. Smith leads the team with 21 made shots and is shooting 52 percent from the field.

Defensively, transfers Branden Cosby-Lee and Sniff have come in and torn up the boards. Both have recorded games with double-digit boards, and both average more than five boards per contest.

Three Mountaineers guards are shooting greater than 45 percent from deep, while two more are shooting more than 35 percent. This bodes well for Western, as the team attempts a three-pointer on 43 percent of the team's shots.