Mavs Drop Three in Southern California Road Swing
(Vanguard 67-82, Cal-Baptist 70-84, Cal-State Dominguez Hills 62-67)

Mesa State men's basketball team played three games in three nights in a non-conference road swing in Southern California. MSC is now 5-6 overall and will break for the Christmas holiday.

Wednesday night in Costa Mesa, Vanguard defeated the Mavs 82-67 by going 21-of-23 from the foul line. Both teams made 26 field goals with the Mavs hitting 7 treys and Vangaurd 9, from the 3-point line. MSC went to the foul line 12 times (8-12) and committed 19 turnovers. Vanguard had 13 turnovers and nine blocked shots. Justin Ashbaugh had a game high 21 points and Bassey Ekong finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.

Cal-Baptist extended their win streak to seven and remain undefeated with an 84-70 win over the Mavericks Thursday night in Riverside, Calif.

Kurt Bangle had his best game of the season finishing with 25 points (11-of-15 from the floor) in 23 minutes of action. Justin Ashbaugh tallied 20 points and eight rebounds for the Mavs. Cal-Baptist forced 19 Maverick turnovers.

Friday night against Cal-State Dominguez Hills the Mavs dropped a close contest 67-62 to close out their pre-Christmas road trip. MSC held a two point half-time lead (32-30) and held a four point lead (59-55) with 2:39 remaining in regulation. The Toros went on a 10-2 run and a four-point lead with 18 seconds left, holding on to secure their fifth win of the season

Ashbaugh was the only Maverick to score in double figures (13). Ekong finished with six boards and eight points.

MSC will return to action January 4 at Colorado School of Mines.

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