GUNNISON, Colo.  After playing toe-to-toe with 14th-ranked Colorado Mesa through the opening 20 minutes Thursday evening, host Western Colorado was unable to keep up with the Mavericks in the second half of an 83-67 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball loss in Paul Wright Gym.

Trevin Lieck put up career numbers for the Mountaineers in the loss, scoring 18 points and pulling down 13 rebounds to record the first double-double of his career.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Colorado Mesa def. Western Colorado, 83-67
Records: Western 4-21 (2-19 RMAC), Mesa 24-4 (19-3)
Location: Paul Wright Gym, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Donned in their black uniforms on Blackout Night, Western pushed and pushed and pushed the nationally ranked Mavs throughout first-half action.
• Mesa could only stretch its advantage to as many as four points during nearly the entirety of the opening 20 minutes, and eventually surrendered the lead to the pesky Mountaineers, at 13-12, nearing the 12-minute mark.
• Trailing by just a point, Gino Corridiri drew a foul on a drive to the basket and sank both free throws to provide Western with its first lead of the game.
• Though Mesa would grab back the lead, Western wouldn't fade away and stormed back in front with a 5-0 run to take a 26-23 lead.
• Robel Desta's 3-pointer ignited that burst and an Avery Rembao layup following a defensive rebound by Grant Wilkinson gave the Mountaineers what would be its largest cushion in the game.
• The momentum began to slip away, though, over the final three minutes.
• Tied at 28-28 with 3:42 remaining in the half, Mesa would close on a 10-5 run for a 38-33 advantage heading into the halftime break.
• The Mavs doubled the lead to 10 (46-36) in the opening 90 seconds of the second half, and would stretch that double-digit lead to 18 (58-40) after six minutes of action.
• Western battled back to within 12 twice, and pulled within 11 at 74-65 on a Kevin Jimenez trey with 2:02 to play, but Mesa again took the wind out of the Mountaineer sails over the closing minutes of a half to finish with the 16-point win.

COURT NOTES

• Lieck had just recorded his previous rebounding high in Western's previous game, coming away with 12 in a five-point win at Regis University on February 18.
• Tying Lieck for team-high scoring honors Thursday was Kade Juelfs. All 18 of his points came from behind the arc as he was 6-of-10 from 3-point land.
• The Mountaineer duo, however, were outscored by Trevor Baskin and Blaise Threatt of Mesa. Baskin scored a game-high 28, many of which from within the paint, while Threatt added 25.
• Though the difference in total number of turnovers was only six – Western with 17 and Mesa with 11 – it was the result of those turnovers that had an affect on the outcome as the Mavs scored 24 points off the Mountaineer miscues to just the 2 points Western took advantage of.
• Lieck did a lot of damage from in close for Western, but overall, it was Mesa who held the advantage in the paint, outscoring the Mountaineers 56-26 from in tight.

UP NEXT
The Mountaineers will close out their season Friday evening in Paul Wright Gym with a 7:30 p.m. RMAC contest on Senior Night against visiting Westminster College.