Box Score How It Happened
#10 Colorado School of Mines (1-0) kicked off the 2015-16 campaign the right way with a hard-fought 70-62 victory over St. Mary's (Texas) in its opener of the RMAC/Heartland Challenge in Lockridge Arena.
A decisive edge on at the free throw line and a game-high 22 points from junior Gokul Natesan allowed Mines to escape a good Rattlers team in its season opener.
Hot shooting was the theme off the opening half as both CSM and St. Mary's came out on fire. The strong shooting initially started the way of the Rattlers as they controlled the opening 10 minutes of the period. Trailing 18-12 at the 9:29 mark, Mines started on the comeback trail and eventually tied the game at 18 on a pair of free throws from Gokul Natesan and then buckets from juniors Caleb Waitsman and Kaan Korkmaz.
Once CSM was able to even things back up both teams would trade the lead back-and-forth until Natesan's jump shot at 1:24 to put the team up by three (28-25). The Orediggers entered the halftime break with a 28-27 advantage after their defense held the Rattlers to only two shots shot over the final minute of the half.
The second half saw the Orediggers methodically extend their lead a bucket at a time. Over the initial eight minutes of the half, Mines took a one-point halftime lead and turned it into a 42-25 advantage. The Rattlers would close the lead back to one (42-41) but a layup then a Natesan three-ball quickly put the Orediggers back up six at the 10:08 mark.
From there, Mines held anywhere from a 5-7 point lead over the next three minutes until Natesan's second three-pointer and a tip-in from junior Murphy Gershman gave Mines its first double-digit lead of the night at 11 (59-48).
St. Mary's clawed away at Mines' lead and would get within in one (61-60) with 1:34 left in the contest, but some heady defense - including a key charge drawn by Zach Rusk - and a few free throws salted away the game and allowed the Orediggers to escape with the 70-62 win.
Notables
- Prior to tonight's contest, the Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team picked up its 2014-15 RMAC Regular Season Championship rings.
- While not their usual strong self from deep (3-of-12), Mines made up for it the old fashion way with 52.6% night from the field.
- In a game that was a close as it was, free throws were as important as ever and Mines decisively won that battle, 27-to-9.
- Mines had four players reach double-figures in scoring with Gokul Natesan leading the way with a game-high 22 points. Natesan was 6-11 from the field and 8-13 from the charity stripe.
- In his CSM debut, Murphy Gershman was more than impressive as the Tucson, Ariz. native finished 4-of-4 from the field and added another five from the free throw line for 13 points and added seven rebounds.
- The Orediggers also picked up a net-positive in bench production at 21-to-16.
Up Next
Mines is back at home again tomorrow as they take on Lubbock Christian in their final game of the RMAC/Heartland Conference Challenge at 7 p.m.
