GOLDEN – The No. 17 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team will close out the year 2013 with a matchup against local rival Colorado Christian on Saturday at Lockridge Arena at 7 p.m.
Though not aired live, the game will be televised and replayed on Comcast Entertainment Television (Xfinity Cable Channel 105) on two occasions over the following two days.
The first airing of the game will be on Sunday, December 22, at 3 p.m. (MST) and the final airing of the contest will be on Monday, December 23, at 4 p.m. (MST).
Mines (8-0, 4-0 RMAC) currently sits atop the RMAC standings following a 2-0 record last weekend in wins over Chadron State (86-80) on Saturday and Black Hill State (78-69) on Sunday. The pair of wins helped Mines move up one spot from No. 18 to No. 17 in this week's NABC Division II Coaches Poll.
The Orediggers, boasting now the ninth-best scoring offense in the nation (93.6), also own the nation's third-best average in terms of margin of victory (25.9). The squad is fifth in free throw percentage (80.4), ninth in rebounding margin (12.0) and ninth in field goal percentage (52.2) as well.
Brian Muller leads the team and sits 14th in the RMAC with an average of 15.0 points per game, while also sitting fourth in the league with a 47.6 shooting average from the perimeter. He is also fifth in the RMAC with an average of 2.5 triples per game.
Senior Brett Green follows with an average of 13.1 points per contest – good for 22nd in the league while also sitting fifth in the league with an 89.2 free throw percentage on the season. Green is currently on pace to set the program's record for career free throw percentage (.854).
Senior Luke Meisch sits third on the team with an average of 12.9 points per contest and classmate Trevor Wages averages 12.1 points. Wages sits second in the RMAC with an average of 9.1 rebounds per game, while Meisch is seventh with an average of 7.3. Wages also leads the team and sits second in the league with an average of 2.1 blocks per game.
Freshman Gokul Natesan sits fifth on the team with an average of 11.9 points per contest and sits second in the RMAC with an average of 3.1 steals per game.
Junior Trevor Ritchie averages 9.9 points per game and sits fourth in the league with an average of 5.23 assists per game and second in the league with a 2.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Colorado Christian (5-3, 3-1 RMAC) enters Saturday's matchup on a three-game winning streak. The squad sits just behind Mines with an average of 92.6 points per game while eclipsing the 100-point plateau in four games this season. The two squads split the season series last year with each team winning on the other's home court.
