Box Score A massive comeback effort by Colorado School of Mines pushed them into Saturday's RMAC Shootout Final with an 84-73 win over Colorado Mesa Friday night.
The Orediggers (24-6) won their 12th consecutive game, erasing a 14-point deficit and pulling ahead late to advance to their first RMAC final since 2012. They will play the host Fort Lewis, an 89-78 winner over MSU Denver in the other semifinal; tip-off is 7 p.m., live on Comcast Entertainment Television.
Caleb Waitsman put together a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double and Gokul Natesan poured in 19 points, including a dagger late three, to lead the Orediggers. RMAC Player of the Year Ryan Stephan scored 23 points and 10 boards for the Mavericks (21-9).
Mesa runs of 12-0 and 10-0 in the first half erased Mines' early advantage and put them up as much as 38-25 in the closing minutes, but the Orediggers chipped away at the line to go into the locker room down a manageable 40-32.
A hot start to the second half made the Orediggers' cold-shooting first period a memory. Waitsman hit the first bucket and a layup from Natesan and five straight points by Luke Schroepfer cut the lead to a basket 2:03 in; Mines wouldn't tie the game, however, until Waitsman's jumper at 11:53 made it 55-55, and Adam Laine's putback 40 seconds later gave the Orediggers their first lead in more than 18 minutes.
The lead changed hands four times over the next four minutes until Kaan Korkmaz's three-pointer and Adam Laine's and-one put Mines ahead 67-63 at the 6:42 mark; the Orediggers wouldn't relinquish the lead after that. Mesa pulled it back to within a bucket on Connor Nichols' jumper at 5:08, but Waitsman answered and Natesan hit a dagger 30-footer with 2:30 remaining to put Mines up 74-67.
Mesa went into the final minute having not made a field goal since Nichols' shot, and were forced to put Mines at the line; the Orediggers responded by going 10-for-10 in the final minute to win.
NOTABLES
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The RMAC Shootout Final appearance will be Mines' first since they won it in 2011-12.
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Mines led 42-28 on the glass, including 21-11 in the second half. Mines snagged 10 offensive boards and had five players with five or more rebounds.
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The Orediggers shot 24-of-26 (92.3%) at the line to Mesa's 13-of-22 (59.1%).
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Waitsman scored 11 points and grabbed eight boards in the second half alone. Schroepfer was also hot after the break, scoring all 11 of his points in the second.
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Mines' bench produced 31 points, led by sparkplug Kaan Korkmaz with 15 and Adam Laine with 12. The reserves also accounted for 20 of Mines' 42 rebounds..
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The second-half turnaround for Mines showed in their shooting, as they hit 33.3 percent overall and went 0-for-7 from three-point range in the first but sank 62.1 percent overall with 4-of-9 three-point shooting in the second half.
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The win solidified Mines' case for an NCAA Tournament berth, regardless of Saturday's outcome. While a win in the final would clinch an automatic bid, Mines came into the weekend ranked fifth in the South Central region with the top eight teams going to NCAAs, and the run to the final will likely keep Mines there or higher.
QUOTABLES
"We had to go into halftime and have a little chat. But we've been resilient over this win streak, I'm just really proud of our guys. We just had to make some shots, we make shots and it loosens up our defense." - Head Coach Pryor Orser on Mines' second-half adjustment
NEXT UP
Mines will take on Fort Lewis Saturday night at 7 p.m., live on CET.
