2018 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball South Central Regional
[8] Mines at [1] West Texas A&M, Saturday, 6 p.m. CT [Live Video] [Live Stats] [Tickets] [Tournament Central]
hosted by West Texas A&M
 

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THE REGIONAL
Mines heads to Canyon, Texas for the 2018 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball South Central regional, starting against host West Texas A&M Saturday at 6 p.m. Central. The Orediggers (22-8) are making their fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and eighth in the last nine years. Mines is one of three RMAC teams – along with third-seeded Regis and fourth-seeded Fort Lewis – to make the field. The Buffs (28-3) won their first outright Lone Star Conference title since 1994, and went on to win Sunday's LSC Tournament final over UT-Permian Basin.

HOW TO WATCH
If you head to the games, tickets at courtside/baseline/box seating are $15 per session, while reserved chairback seats are $10. General admission tickets (5 years old and up) are $5 and students with ID are $4. Every game of the regional will be streamed online by West Texas A&M; fans can also watch on their Roku/Apple TV/Amazon Fire devices on the Lone Star Conference app.

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Mines received an at-large berth as the #8 seed in the South Central region after losing in the RMAC Tournament semifinals to eventual champion Regis. West Texas A&M earned the region's #1 seed after winning the Lone Star Conference regular-season and tournament championships.

LAST TIME WE MET
Mines and West Texas A&M met in last year's South Central regional final at Lockridge Arena as Mines came away with an emphatic 88-63 win. Regional most outstanding player Gokul Natesan became the fourth player in program history to score 2,000 points as he compiled a double-double of 13 points and 12 assists in the game, while Luke Schroepfer shot 9-for-10 for 23 points to lead all scorers. Mines took the Buffs out of the game early with an 11-2 run to open, and at one point held West Texas A&M scoreless over a 6:30 period. The Orediggers put the game away thanks to a 16-5 run to open the second half as Schroepfer scored 10 of his 23 in that span.

MINES TRIO NAMED ALL-RMAC
Luke Schroepfer, Ben Sonnefeld, and Michael Glen were honored as All-RMAC on Tuesday for their play this season. Glen was also named the RMAC Freshman of the Year, Mines' first since Gokul Natesan in 2013-14. Schroepfer earned a spot on the first team, Sonnefeld the second team, and Glen honorable mention. Schroepfer is Mines' leading scorer this year at 15.3 points per game including 79 three-pointers, while Sonnefeld has run the point to perfection with 12.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. Glen, a true freshman, has been outstanding at the 4 producing 10.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game.

SONNEFELD NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Earlier this month, Ben Sonnefeld was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team for his combination of athletic and academic achievement. Sonnefeld is a mechanical engineering major with a 3.71 GPA; this season he is averaging 12.5 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game, all of which are career highs.

FROM THE OUTSIDE
Mines enters the NCAA Tournament ranked #1 in NCAA Division II in three-point shooting percentage, hitting 43.9 percent of their outside shots this season. They're led by Luke Schroepfer, who is eighth in D-II at .465 percent having made 79 of 170 attempts; Schroepfer is also Mines' career three-point percentage leader at .476. Mason Baker is .529 percent off the bench (37-for-70) with Ben Sonnefeld (.444), Michael Glen (.456), and Luke Golter (.433) all over .400 this season.

MR. MARCH
Luke Schroepfer is Mines' leading scorer this year at 15.3 points per game, but over the last two seasons, he's been even more impressive in the postseason. In 10 postseason games dating back to the start of the 2017 RMAC Tournament, Schroepfer is averaging 17.1 points per game, including his postseason career high of 23 against West Texas A&M in last year's Sweet 16; this year, he scored 20 against UCCS in the RMAC quarterfinals and 19 against Regis in the semis.

NO NO NO
For a lineup that has often had to go small this season, Mines' rim protection certainly hasn't suffered. The Orediggers rank 11th in NCAA Division II in blocks with 149 this season, led by Michael Glen's 44 and Felix Scheytt's 29, with Duke Douglas swatting 22 and Adam Laine 14.

DOUGLAS PRODUCES FOR MINES
One of Mines' key offseason additions was graduate student Duke Douglas, who transferred from the University of Denver with one season of eligibility left. Douglas has certainly made his presence known defensively all season, averaging just under a steal and a block per game, but in the postseason has erupted offensively, going for a career-high 29 against UCCS and 13 against Regis. In the RMAC tournament Douglas shot 18-for-23 (.782) including 4-for-5 for three.
 

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SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL SCHEDULE (all times Central)

Session I – Saturday, March 10, 2018
Game 1 - 12:00 p.m. - [3] Regis vs. [6] Dallas Baptist
Game 2 - 2:30 p.m. - [2] UT Permian Basin vs. [7] Arkansas-Fort Smith
 
Session II – Saturday, March 10, 2018
Game 3 - 6:00 p.m. - [1] West Texas A&M vs. [8] Colorado School of Mines
Game 4 - 8:30 p.m. - [4] Fort Lewis vs. [5] Texas A&M-Commerce
 
Session III – Sunday, March 11, 2018
Game 5 - 5:00 p.m. - Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 6 - 7:30 p.m. - Game 3 winner vs. game 4 winner
 
Session IV – Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Game 7 - 7:00 p.m. - Game 5 winner vs. game 6 winner