GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The MSU Denver defense shut down Colorado Mesa over the final four minutes and multiple players made key offensive plays as the Roadrunners earned an 84-78 road victory Saturday night over a team receiving votes in both national polls.
Mesa was shooting 64.9 percent from the field before missing 10 of its final 12 field goal tries over the last 10 minutes, including its last five shots over the final 2:31.
"We changed our coverage and started switching everything and really fought in the post and made them take tough shots and took away the 3s they were getting," MSU Denver coach Dan Ficke said. "When they had gotten a lead, we were overhelping and getting beat off the dribble."
The road win against a quality opponent was huge as it came after a disappointing 28-point road loss at Westminster in Friday's Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener.
"The No. 1 thing to me is the resilience and toughness we had to bounce back after we didn't show up yesterday," Ficke said. "To come back like this, I couldn't be more proud of them."
Colorado Mesa led 61-52 with 12:03 left in the game before the Roadrunners clawed their way back into it.
Jake Chrisman's free throws capped a 15-6 run that gave MSU Denver a 67-66 lead with 7:57 to go.
The lead changed hands several times over the next few minutes, but then Mesa seemed to be gaining the upper hand, taking a lead of 77-73 with 3:14 left.
But redshirt freshman
Jaden Kennis drove for a tough three-point play to bring the Roadrunners within a point with 2:57 to go, and true freshman
Brayden Maldonado made a clutch 3-pointer with the shot clock running out to put the Roadrunners in front 79-77 with 1:56 left. Maldonado was 4 for 4 from 3-point range.
"It was a phenomenal and-one for Jaden, and Brayden was great tonight – seven assists and only one turnover – and he had a great contest (on the next possession) on a 3-pointer," Ficke said.
After two defensive stops,
Tyrei Randall made two free throws for an 81-77 lead with 54 seconds left, and then
Luke Jones forced a Mesa turnover with solid defense on the ensuing possession.
"Luke has bought into his role as being the best defender off the bench, and he did a great job," Ficke said.
Randall made two more free throws with 23 seconds left, completing a 10-0 run for an 83-77 lead, and the Roadrunners held on for the win despite a couple of shaky moments.
The Roadrunners shot 54.7 percent from the field for the game, including a blistering 68.2 percent (15 of 22) in the second half.
"We kept them off the foul line (18 attempts), and then we got to the foul line (26)," Ficke said. "We turned them over, and we took care of the ball. We executed great down the stretch, although the last minute could've been better."
Kennis and Maldonado each had 14 points while Randall and
Caleb McGill each scored 13, and Jones and
Chandler Bevans each had eight.
"Chandler and Jake (Chrisman) did a phenomenal job of bringing energy and toughness and rebounding off the bench," Ficke said. "Luke was great off the bench, too. A game like tonight, you can see that everyone has bought in and is locked in to what we're trying to do."
MSU Denver returns home for Friday's 7 p.m. game against Black Hills State, a top-five team in Division II.
"We want to build off this win in practice this week and remember this feeling vs. the feeling we had after Friday's game," Ficke said.
