Denver, Colo. --- The Minnesota State men's basketball traveled to Denver, Colo., Friday night to take on the Regis University Rangers, ultimately losing the game 97-89 after a late comeback attempt came up short. 

In the opening moments of the game, the Rangers quickly built a 12-3 lead forcing a timeout from the Mavericks.  Coming out of the break, Minnesota State scored four straight points before Regis ran off six of their own followed by eight straight points from the Mavericks to cut the Ranger lead to 18-15 with 11:45 to go in the half.

Out of the media timeout, Tre Baumgardner drilled a fast break three and drew a foul allowing him to complete the four-point play giving the Mavericks their first lead of the game at 19-18.  From that point in the half, the Rangers went on a 31-15 run punctuated by three-pointers on three straight possessions, to take a 49-34 lead into the halftime locker room.

At the half, Cameron Kirksey led the Mavericks with nine points while Ryland Holt was second on the team with eight points coming off the bench. 

Coming out of the half, Minnesota State immediately launched an 8-2 run to cut the Regis lead to 51-42.  After an early timeout from the Rangers, they proceeded to extend their lead to twenty points over the Mavericks, relying heavily on the three-point shot.

In the final three minutes, Minnesota State pressured every possession and forced Regis into turnovers and cut the lead down to eight points with 1:42 to go in the game after a 22-6 run.  Despite the pressure though, the Rangers were able to survive the late attack, and ultimately came away with the 97-89 win.

Kirksey finished the game leading the Mavericks with 21 points to go along with four rebounds.  Malik Willingham and Holt came off the bench and finished second and third in scoring with 19 and 16 points respectively.  As a team, the Mavericks shot 49.2% from the floor as did the Rangers, with the difference coming at the line with Regis making 27 free throws compared to 15 from Minnesota State.

Tomorrow the Mavericks will remain in Denver, Colo., to take on the Metropolitan State Roadrunners with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CST.
 
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