Colorado School of Mines at Western New Mexico, Friday, 7:30 p.m. [Live Video] [Live Stats]
Colorado School of Mines at New Mexico Highlands, Saturday, 7 p.m. [Live Video] [Live Stats]
BEFORE THE BREAK
Mines sits at 8-3 overall and 3-2 in RMAC play through the end of the fall semester. In their last action on Dec. 19, the Orediggers dominated first-place Westminster in a 67-50 win as Gokul Natesan scored 18 and Caleb Waitsman 16. That helped Mines bounce back from a tough 89-85 overtime loss to Colorado Mesa that saw Natesan pour in a career-high 38 points.
LAST YEAR
Mines swept both season series from Western New Mexico and New Mexico Highlands. The Orediggers beat WNMU 69-59 on the road and 76-57 at home; Caleb Waitsman averaged 11.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in those wins, while Gokul Natesan had 14.0 points and 4.0 assists per game. Against Highlands, Mines won 78-66 away and 109-63 at home in their highest-scoring game of 2014-15; the road trip was paced by Waitsman's career-high 22 points and seven boards, while in the blowout home win Natesan dropped a then-career-high 25 and Waitsman snagged a career-high 15 boards.
MINES QUICK LOOK
The Orediggers (8-3, 3-2 RMAC) have been led in the scoring column by Gokul Natesan, who is averaging 21.9 points and 3.6 assists per game this season. Mines' post duo of Joe Dellenbach (8.5 ppg/2.5 rpg) and Caleb Waitsman (8.5 ppg/4.9 rpg) have been key in the paint while Kaan Korkmaz (7.5 ppg/2.2 rpg) has been a spark off the bench. One of the nation's best passing teams, Mines has three players averaging three or more assists per game in Natesan, Ben Sonnefeld (3.3 apg), and Zach Rusk (3.5 apg).
WESTERN NEW MEXICO QUICK LOOK
The Mustangs are winless heading into the new year at 0-10, and have 11 players with at least one start as they've tried to figure things out. Willie McCray (12.5 ppg) leads the team in scoring while Emery Range (9.4 ppg/6.3 rpg) and Steven Loucks (7.8 ppg/4.8 rpg) are the only two Mustangs to have started all 10 games. WNMU is giving up nearly nine points and three rebounds per game to opponents while shooting only .372 for the season.
NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS QUICK LOOK
The Cowboys enter 2016 at 6-5 overall but are a perfect 5-0 in RMAC play to lead the Mountain Division. They've won five straight behind one of the RMAC's top scorers in Jonathon Mines (21.0 ppg, 23.0 ppg in RMAC games). A supporting cast including Marlon Johnson (15.1 ppg/8.2 rpg), Kendrick Nichols (14.9 ppg), and Ron Lawton (11.9 ppg) have helped NMHU average an RMAC-best 88.8 points per game over their five-game win streak while holding opponents to a league-best .391 field goal percentage.
