Mines vs. South Dakota Mines, Friday, 8 p.m. [Live Video] [Live Stats]
Mines vs. Black Hills State, Saturday, 7 p.m. [Live Video] [Live Stats]
 

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THE WEEKEND AHEAD
Colorado School of Mines returns home to host the RMAC's two members from the Mount Rushmore State, South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State. The Orediggers face off with SDSMT on Friday at 8 p.m., with the BHSU game Saturday at 7 p.m.

THE STREAK CONTINUES
The Orediggers' winning streak kept on rolling last week with wins at Adams State and Fort Lewis, stretching the run to 11 games. It's Mines' longest win streak since a 12-game stretch into the postseason during the 2016-17 season. More importantly, their winning ways have put the Orediggers two games up in the RMAC standings at a perfect 9-0; New Mexico Highlands, Regis, and UCCS are all tied for second at 7-2, with Mines already owning wins over the latter two.  

LAST TIME OUT
Mines went on the road and came back with two more victories thanks to wins at Adams State and Fort Lewis last weekend. On Friday at ASU, Mines won 84-70 shooting 61.4 percent in the second half to overcome a 42-35 Grizzly lead at halftime; Mason Baker scored 21 and Ben Sonnefeld had 17, including his 1,000th career point. On Saturday at Fort Lewis, Mines cruised 92-79 thanks to a 24-for-24 night at the foul like. Mason Baker poured in a season-high 27 points and Austin Means had 17 off the bench as Mines held the Skyhawks to 37.7 percent shooting.

ON THE LINE
At Fort Lewis on Saturday, Mines produced a program and RMAC record going 24-for-24 from the foul line. The Orediggers bested a pair of 22-for-22 performances, one by MSU Denver in 2005-06 and another by New Mexico Highlands in 1981-82. It was only the 15th time in NCAA Division II history that a team made 24 or more free throws without a miss; of the 10 "perfect games" in NCAA Division II this season, Mines' is the second-highest after Chowan's 26-for-26 performance against Claflin on Dec. 1. Mines' 24 makes were its most this season; Mason Baker led the way going 9-for-9 as he's made 22 consecutive free throws over the last four games.

SONNEFELD SCORES 1,000TH
Senior point guard Ben Sonnefeld entered last weekend needing 14 points to hit 1,000 for his career, and he got it Friday night at Adams State with a 17-point performance. Sonnefeld hit the magic number on a pull-up jumper from the foul line late in the second half, and now has 1,015 career points. This season, he is averaging career highs in scoring (14.4), rebounding (4.1), and assists (4.3), and ranks second in the RMAC in assists and first in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.8).

INSIDE THE STREAK
Winning 11 games in a row is impressive any way you slice it, but it's been the way that Mines is winning that is turning heads. The Orediggers have been dominating opponents, winning their last 11 by an average margin of 19.7 points per game; in that span Mines is +7.6 rebounds, +6.2 assists, and +2.5 blocks per game, shooting .534 overall (to opponents' .435) and a white-hot .450 for three (to opponents' .349). Three-point shooting has been especially key – Mines has hit 9.4 three-pointers per game over the last 11 wins, and are hitting 3.4 more threes per game than opponents.

COMEBACK KID
If there was an award for RMAC comeback player of the year, Mines center Ben Clare would certainly have to be at the top of the list of candidates this season. After missing almost all of conference play last year with an injury, Clare has stormed back to average 11.4 points and 5.7 rebounds in only 25.1 minutes per game, shooting .560 overall and leading Mines with 22 blocks. He ranks in the RMAC top-20 in shooting percentage (8th), rebounding average (20th), and blocks average (4th). His presence has been undeniable on both ends of the floor as he has a team-leading +/- per 40 of +20.41.

MINES NOTABLES
Mason Baker has scored 20+ points in each of his last three games and has scored in double digits in every game this season … Baker also leads the team with 21 steals … Mines ranks fourth in NCAA Division II in blocks per game (5.4) led by Ben Clare's 22 swats and 18 each by Brendan Sullivan and Michael Glen … Friday's game will be a match-up of the RMAC's two-best scoring defenses with South Dakota Mines at 68.9 ppg and the Orediggers at 70.7 … The Orediggers lead the RMAC in three-point shooting percentage at .421 and rebounding margin at +6.1 … Mines has been masterful at making halftime defensive adjustments this season; in RMAC play, opponents are shooting .492 in the first half against .422 in the second half, and the three-point disparity is exceptional with .452 in the first half versus only .300 in the second.

LAST YEAR
The Orediggers swept last year's season series from South Dakota Mines, winning at home 94-67 and on the road 73-52. In the first meeting, Michael Glen had a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double and Ben Clare sank 20 points with seven rebounds; in Rapid City, Glen again had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds to go with three blocks and two steals. Mines also won its only meeting with Black Hills State, 70-51, at Lockridge Arena shooting 13-of-20 for three led by Luke Schroepfer's 26 points and another Glen double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds).

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
South Dakota Mines enters the weekend 7-10 overall and 4-5 in RMAC play having alternated wins in their last six games. The trio of Mitchell Sueker (12.4 ppg), Allec Williams (12.3 ppg), and Logan Elers (11.4 ppg) lead the Hardrockers in scoring, with Damani Hayes snaring a team-best 5.9 rebounds per game. Black Hills State is 7-6 overall and well-positioned in the RMAC at 6-3, but have lost three straight - to Colorado Mesa, Colorado Christian, and Regis - after a 6-0 start. Fraser Malcolm and Tyler Oliver lead the way as Malcolm averages 15.7 points and 5.1 rebounds and Oliver 10.8 points, 6.2 boards, and 2.8 assists per game.

LOOKING AHEAD
Mines will head out on a four-game road trip starting Jan. 25 at local rival MSU Denver, with visits to Chadron State (Jan. 26), CSU-Pueblo (Feb. 1), and New Mexico Highlands (Feb. 2) also on tap.