SALT LAKE CITY – MSU Denver executed Friday night's game plan to perfection.
 
"We wanted to dominate the paint, play at our pace and dominate the glass," MSU Denver coach Dan Ficke said. "Those were the three key points we talked about, and we did a good job in those areas."
 
In racing to a 92-72 victory at Westminster, the Roadrunners outscored the Griffins 54-24 in the paint, 18-0 on fast-break points, and had a 39-24 rebounding advantage.
 
Throw in the facts that MSU Denver built early leads of 14-2 and 20-5 and led by at least seven the rest of the night, and that it shot a season-best 59.0 percent from the field (36 of 61) while matching a season-high with 21 assists, and there are plenty of things to be happy about as the team heads into a big Saturday night matchup at Nos. 9 and 14 Colorado Mesa.
 
"We started out the game great," Ficke said. "We jumped on them right away, and that's what talked about. The whole first half we controlled the pace and played at our tempo. We started slow in the second half and got lulled to sleep, but once they got it to seven (at 63-56) we had a nice run (17-5) and finished it out.
 
"It wasn't a full defensive effort, but it was good for the most part. And it was one of our best performances of the year in sharing the basketball."
 
MSU Denver, in winning its third straight and for the fifth time in six games, improved to 16-7 overall while still holding on to a share of fourth place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference at 10-7.
 
Sophomore guard Brayden Maldonado topped 20 points for the fourth time in five games, scoring 22 while making 8 of 12 from the field, including 2 of 5 from 3-point territory, and 4 of 5 free throws.
 
Point guard KJ Garrett was controlled the tempo while scoring 15 points, making 3 of 5 from the field, both of his 3s and 7 of 10 free throws while handing out five assists.
 
And Mario Lacy, Jr., had 12 points on 6 of 8 shooting, Marzouq Ibn Abdur-Razaaq had eight points and eight rebounds, and Caleb McGill and Quave Propst-Allison each scored nine.
 
"It was just an all-around team effort, and everyone who played contributed to the win," Ficke said.
 
Now the Roadrunners travel to face Mesa (20-3 overall, 16-1 RMAC), which roughed up Colorado School of Mines 98-81 Friday night. Mesa beat MSU Denver 85-82 when the teams played in Denver on Dec. 2.
 
"We feel like we owe them one, and we expect a battle," Ficke said. "We've got to show from the jump that we're going to bring the fight to them. Playoff implications are on the line, and we'll have to play with the kind of intensity and effort level that you need. We have to focus on the game plan and execute against a very good basketball team."