GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado – Away from its home court for the first time this season, the No. 23-ranked Angelo State basketball team saw Colorado Mesa finish on an 11-7 run over the final five minutes to regain its halftime lead from the Rams who lead for a majority of the second half as the Mavericks took a 70-67 decision at the Colorado Mesa Thanksgiving Classic on Friday at the Brownson Arena.

The Rams (5-1) led 56-50 with seven minutes remaining and were up 60-59 on a Demario Mayfield jumper with 4:51 to play before the Mavericks (4-1) used two 3-pointers and a layup to take a 67-60 lead. Another layup by Mayfield stopped the run and he would add two more layups to cut the deficit to four, but a Ryan Stephan dunk gave CMU a 69-64 lead with 17 seconds to play. Mayfield continued to keep the Rams in the game with a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining, but the Rams couldn't mount the comeback as CMU earned the non-conference win which dropped ASU from the ranks of the unbeaten.

ASU will quickly return to action with a 4 p.m. (CST) game against Western State Colorado (1-2) on Saturday at the Colorado Mesa Thanksgiving Classic and will then play Western New Mexico in Silver City, New Mexico on Monday. Western State Colorado will be coming off a 70-67 loss to Texas A&M International on Saturday in Grand Junction.

"Committing 15 turnovers and going 9-for-18 from the free-throw line isn't going to get it done on the road," ASU head coach Chris Beard said. "Give Colorado Mesa all the credit. They are a well-coached team with a legitimate all-American in Ryan Stephan. He is as efficient of a player as I have seen since my days in the Big 12. We have two games left on this road trip and I'm looking forward to seeing how we respond tomorrow with a quick turnaround. I believe in our players and we will learn from this game tonight. It's a long season and our veteran players understand that."

Mayfield finished the game with a season-best 23 points and added eight rebounds, while Chris Jones supplied 14 points and led the Rams with five assists and three steals. Marsell Holden joined Mayfield and Jones in double-figures with 11 points and Raijon Kelly contributed eight points and four rebounds.  ASU trailed 34-29 at halftime, but went on a 9-4 run highlighted by a Kelly 3-pointer to tie the game at 38 and the Rams were up 41-38 on a DeQuavious Wagner steal and layup. Jones would hit a 3-pointer to give ASU a 50-46 lead with 10 minutes to play and Omari Gudul gave the Rams a 56-53 advantage, but a Landon Vermeer 3-pointer tied it at 56 with six minutes to play. Mayfield gave the Rams their last advantage at 60-59 with two free throws and a jumper with a CMU 3-pointer in between.

Stephan led the Mavericks with a game-high 25 points, including going 3-for-3 from beyond the 3-point line, while Michael Melillo and Derek Biale each added 10 points for CMU on its home court. ASU shot 52.1 percent from the field in the game, while CMU went 48.1 percent. The Mavericks hit 11 3-pointers in the game though compared to ASU's eight and the outscored the Rams 24-16 in the paint. ASU owned a 12-2 steal advantage in the game with Jones having a game-leading three steal, but ASU did commit 15 turnovers of its own and saw the Mavericks turn those turnovers into 17 points.

Mayfield led the Rams at halftime with eight points, including hitting two 3-pointers and having two rebounds, while Holden contributed seven points on 3 of 6 shooting and Jones adding six points and three assists in the first half with ASU trailing 34-29 after the first 20 minutes of play. The Rams held multiple leads in the first half, including a 12-10 advantage with Mayfield hitting a 3-pointer at the 13:33 mark of the half and then a 17-11 lead with Rawls drilling another 3-pointer 12 minutes into the game. CMU regained the lead at the 6:21 mark with a Ryan Stephan dunk and expanded it to 24-19 on a Stephan 3-pointer with five minutes remaining before halftime. Down eight, Mayfield hit his second 3-pointer of the half at the 1:47 mark of the half for the final points of the half. Stephan led all scorers with 14 points in the first half and also had a first-half high five rebounds for the Mavericks.