COLORADO SPRINGS - Colorado School of Mines orchestrated a massive turnaround to beat UCCS on the road, 81-60, in RMAC play Saturday.

Gokul Natesan had a nearly flawless game, shooting 9-of-10 from the floor with a career-best 7-for-7 three-point performance on his way to 27 points. Caleb Waitsman poured in 16 points with seven rebounds.

It was a tale of two halves as the Mountain Lions (3-8, 2-4 RMAC) shot 66.7 percent in the first but only 31.8 percent in the second as the Orediggers (9-3, 4-2 RMAC) lit it up after the break to outscore UCCS 44-20 in the second half. Mines shot 67.9 percent in the second half on the way to a 56.4 percentage for the game, including 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) from beyond the arc to make the 35-point swing possible.

UCCS had a can't-miss start and quickly built up a double-digit lead, going up as much as 14 and leading by 10 as late as the 3:39 mark of the first. Mines steadily built the pressure, though, and ended the first half on a 9-2 run ended by a pair of Waitsman layups as they held UCCS without a field goal over the last 3:56 to trail 40-37.

The second half completely flipped the script as the Orediggers took their first lead on a Ben Sonnefeld layup 5:27 in and never looked back. Two straight Natesan three's sparked a 19-1 run for Mines, with Blend Avdili's three-pointer at 9:44 ending a nearly nine-minute field goal drought for the hosts. By then, Mines had built a double-digit lead that they would not give up as they won going away with a 17-7 run to end the game.

NOTABLES
- Mines' 62.5 percent three-point shooting night was their best since 2014-15, when the Orediggers sank 13-of-17 attempts (76.5 percent) at Colorado Christian.
- Natesan also added seven rebounds to his stat line. His seven three-pointers are a career high, surpassing four career six-trey games for the senior.
- Sonnefeld had 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting to go with a team-high four assists, and Luke Schroepfer added 11 points with three three-pointers. 
- Mines went to the line only 10 times but sank nine of their free throws. 
- Mines made the most of opportunities, leading UCCS in points off turnovers (18-9) and second-chance points (17-7). 
- Treshawn Wilford led UCCS with 14 points. 

NEXT UP
Mines will break for the holidays before returning home Dec. 30 to host Westminster at 3 p.m.