GUNNISON, Colo.  Western Colorado men's basketball will be on the road for their next two contests as they head to Grand Junction to compete in the Holiday Inn Airport Thanksgiving Basketball Classic.  On Friday they will take on Simon Fraser University and will close things out on Saturday against Our Lady of the Lake University.

MOUNTAINEERS HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | SEASON STATS

• Western will look to get is first win of the season after losing two tough matchups in the Comfort INN Classic on Friday Nov. 19 and Saturday Nov. 20, against University of The Southwest (N.M.) and Washington Adventist University.
• Avery Rembao shined in both games, posting a career high 34 points on Friday and then following it up with a 22-point outing on Saturday.
• Elijah Davidson did a little bit of everything on Friday in the narrow 89-83 loss, pitching in with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and a block.
• Matthew Ragsdale on Saturday helped with the scoring load with 15 points and was 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Rembao was also solid from the free throw line on Saturday going 8-of-8.
• In the Thanksgiving Classic, Western will look to improve on their shooting woes from the 3-point line, shooting 14-of-53 (26.8%) in the two games played in the Comfort INN Classic.
• Western will also be looking to improve in the turnover department where they turned the ball over 11 times against Southwest that led to 17 points being scored, and 17 times against Washington Adventist that resulted in 22 points being scored. Yet, while those are high numbers to have in that category, they have made a slight improvement from their first games of the season.

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | SEASON STATS

• SFU is 3-2 heading into the Holiday Inn Airport Thanksgiving Classic and is on a two-game win streak.
• They average 81.6 points per game, shoot 45.8 % from the field and 31.7 % from the 3-point line
• SFU has four players who average double figures in scoring: Julian Roche (14.6), Jasdeep Singh (13.8), Jordan Lyons (13.2) and Josiah Mastandrea (11.0).
• Roche is also SFU's leading rebounder with 8.4 per game. 

OUR LADY OF THE LAKE UNIVERSITY HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | SEASON STATS

• The Saints are 4-3 so far this season heading into the Holiday Inn Airport Thanksgiving Classic and average a tad over 78 points per game.
• From the field the Saints shoot 42.0%, and 31.8% from the 3-point line. 
• Three players average double digits in scoring: Joseph Anderson (15.0), Ellis Jones (13.6) and Jordan Embry (10.3)
• Embry is the leading rebounder for the Saints with 6.7 per game.

COLORADO MESA HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | SEASON STATS

• The Mavericks prepare to host the Holiday Inn Airport Thanksgiving Classic after two impressive victories over Washington Adventist (99-59) and University of the Southwest (106-52) in the Comfort INN Classic.
• They are averaging 79.3 points per game, shooting 47.8% from the floor and 35.9% from the 3-point line.
• The Mavericks are led by Blaise Threatt who averages 16.4 points per game.
• Mac Riniker and Trevor Baskin are the leading rebounders for the Mavericks, both averaging 5.4 per game. Riniker and Baskin are also scoring threats averaging 13.0 and 11.4 points per game.

HOLIDAY INN AIRPORT THANKSGIVING BASKETBALL CLASSIC SCHEDULE

• Friday, Nov. 26
  • 2 p.m. - Western Colorado vs. Simon Fraser
  • 7 p.m. - Colorado Mesa (home) vs. Our Lady of The Lake
• Saturday, Nov. 27
  • 2 p.m. - Western Colorado vs. Our Lady of The Lake
  • 7 p.m. - Colorado Mesa (home) vs. Simon Fraser