Box Score GUNNISON, Colo.  A seven-point deficit was whittled down to just two points late in the second half Thursday night, but that would be as close as host Western Colorado would get over the final five minutes as Colorado Mesa University held off the Mountaineer rally to escape with a 62-57 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball victory.

Matthew Ragsdale led a trio of Mountaineers into double digits in the scoreboard, leading the team with a 16-point effort.

The evening's contest was billed as a Black-Out Night in Paul Wright Gym, and the campus community responded, packing in the largest and most raucous crowd of the season for the Mountaineers.

THE ESSENTIALS
Final score: Colorado Mesa def. Western Colorado, 62-57
Records: Western Colorado 5-22 (4-17 RMAC), Colorado Mesa 22-8 (16-5)
Location: Paul Wright Gym; Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Trailing 49-42 as the clock ticked under nine minutes to play, Avery Rembao knocked down a 3-pointer to ignite a rally by Western.
• Cole Sienknecht picked the pocket of a Maverick on CMU's ensuing possession and the transition turned into a Jaelan McCloud putback that drew the Mountaineers to within a basket.
• The teams traded buckets on the next two possessions, but CMU picked up a layup and one followed by a key defensive rebound and two more free throws from the play to extend its lead back to seven points, 58-51.
• Western would trim the deficit to four with two minutes to play, and then three with eight seconds left but the Mavericks converted two final throws to thrust the dagger into the heart of the rally.
• The Mountaineers started slowly but gained momentum at the halfway point of the first half.
• Down by six, 17-11, they picked up two from Sienknecht on a driving layup, followed by a turnover that allowed Will Willis to drop in a trey to cut the margin to one.
• Ragsdale snared a defensive rebound and Sienknecht popped a 3-pointer to give Western the lead, 19-17, with six to play before the break.
• Mesa would take back the lead but a Ragsdale trey, a Willis 3-pointer and a Sienknecht layup combined for an 8-0 closing run, sending Western into halftime leading 31-26.
• The Mountaineers would maintain an advantage for most of the initial seven minutes of the second half, but CMU took the lead for good at 41-39 with 13:16 left in the game.

COURT NOTES

• Ragsdale was joined in double figures by Sienknecht's 14 points and 10 from Jaelan McCloud. For CMU it was Jared Small leading the way with a game-high 18 points.
• Western came up with a game-best 38 rebounds, with Elijah Davidson recording 12 for his 10th game in double digits, including six of his last eight outings.
• The Mountaineers also had the better shooting night (41 percent from the floor to 38% by CMU), 3-pointers (8-of-25 to 5-of-23) and got 19 points from their bench while Maverick subs contributed just five points.
• The hot spots that affected the outcome of the close game were from the free throw line and in the turnover department.
• While Western didn't light the world on fire from the charity stripe, only 3-of-7, it was the disparity in the number of opportunities that came into play as CMU went to the line 20 times and hit 13 of those chances.
• The Mavs converted 18 Western turnovers into 27 points, against 14 Mountaineer points from 13 CMU miscues.
• Neither team hit its per-game average in scoring on the night. CMU was held to 16 points fewer than its average and Western was held to 18 points from its points-per-game mark.

UP NEXT

• Western closed out its season at home on Saturday, Senior Night, against visiting Westminster College in a season-ending RMAC matchup.
• CMU travels to Fort Lewis College Saturday for a conference clash.