GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Western State Colorado University men's basketball begin the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedule this Tuesday. The Mountaineers won't travel far for their first conference test of the season, traveling to Grand Junction, Colorado for a showdown against Colorado Mesa University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Brownson Arena.
 
Western (2-4, 0-0 RMAC) returns to Grand Junction after playing their last two games in Brownson Arena at the CMU Holiday Inn-Airport Thanksgiving Classic. The Mountaineers defeated MidAmerica Nazarene University 70-69 in Grand Junction on Saturday.
 
Last season, the Mountaineers and CMU (4-2, 0-0 RMAC) split the series, each winning at home.
 
Western senior guard, Ben Beauchamp, enters the week just 26 points shy of reaching the 1,000 career point mark. After scoring 66 points as a freshman at Black Hills State University, Beauchamp recorded 819 points in the following two seasons at Western. This season, Beauchamp has scored 89 points through the first six games.
 
Beauchamp already ranks second in school history with 665 three-pointers attempted in a Mountaineer uniform.
 
Leading Western in scoring this season is forward Collin Smith. Smith is averaging 17.2 points per game, which ranks eighth best in the conference. The senior has scored more than 20 points in half of Western's games this season.
 
After starting the season with two losses, CMU enters the week having won their last four games.
 
Emilio Acedo is leading the Mavericks' offensive charge, averaging a team-high 17.8 points per game.
 
Following Tuesday night's game in Grand Junction, Western returns home to host Westminster College at 7 p.m. in Paul Wright Gym on Saturday night.