#11/13 Mines vs. New Mexico Highlands, Friday, 8 p.m. [Live Video] [Live Stats]
#11/13 Mines vs. CSU-Pueblo, Saturday, 7 p.m. [Live Video] [Live Stats]
 

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THE WEEKEND AHEAD
The Orediggers eye a potential RMAC-title-clinching win at home this weekend as they host New Mexico Highlands and CSU-Pueblo on Friday and Saturday. It will be the second time around against both teams this season; Mines won 81-78 at NMHU on Feb. 2 and 90-67 at CSU-Pueblo on Feb. 1.

EYES ON THE PRIZE
With five games left in the season, Mines can clinch a share of the RMAC regular-season title and the RMAC Tournament's #1 seed with one win, and the outright title with two wins. At 17-0, the Orediggers hold a commanding four-game lead over Regis (13-4) and also have the head-to-head tiebreak over the Rangers. Black Hills State is 12-5, while New Mexico Highlands, Dixie State, and UCCS are all 11-6. CSU-Pueblo has been eliminated from postseason contention at 4-13.

THE STREAK CONTINUES
With its two wins last weekend, Mines broke the program record for consecutive wins, and the streak now stands at 19. The Orediggers, after starting out 1-3 this season, have not lost a game in nearly three months, since falling in overtime at Fort Hays State on Nov. 17. The previous program-best streak, 17 games, was set in 2011-12. Mines' streak is the second-longest active in NCAA Division II behind undefeated Northwest Missouri State (23-0) and is the third-longest in all of college basketball.

Longest Active Win Streaks In College Basketball
Northwest Missouri State - 23 (NCAA D-II)
Wisconsin-Oshkosh - 21 (NCAA D-III)
Colorado School of Mines - 19 (NCAA D-II)
Tennessee - 18 (NCAA D-I)

IN THE POLLS
Mines moved up one spot in this week's NABC Top-25 poll to #11, and advanced two spots to #13 in the D2SIDA poll. The Orediggers broke into the national rankings three weeks ago and have shot up the rankings thanks to their hot run of play. The first NCAA regional rankings will be released next week.

LAST TIME OUT
Mines cruised past Chadron State, 90-56, last Friday night shooting a season-high .659 as five players scored in double figures. Saturday night was much tougher as the Orediggers survived MSU Denver 66-60 in a defensive showcase, holding the Roadrunners to .371 shooting for the game as Mason Baker scored 15 and Ben Sonnefeld had 13. Mines went 19-of-22 at the line to aid in the win.

SECOND HALF SUCCESS
Part of the reason Mines has been able to come back in games? They've been very, very good in the second half. The Orediggers are shooting an exceptional .565 from the floor in the second half of RMAC games (to .508 in the first) while holding opponents to only .413 (compared to .478 in the first). The second-half margins are staggering: +10.1 points and +4.3 rebounds, while shooting .435 for three to opponents' .320. Mines has outscored opponents in the second half in 14 consecutive games.

A HELPING HAND
Three weeks ago, Ben Sonnefeld became the fourth player in program history to reach 400 career assists. Last week, he moved into third-place all-time at Mines surpassing Mike Ziegler (416), and now stands at 418 career assists. Sonnefeld has only Jeff Rhodes (607) and former teammate Gokul Natesan (427) ahead of him. Sonnefeld ranks third in the RMAC this season in assists (4.3 per game) and first in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.8).

SPREADING THE LOVE
Mines is one of two teams in the RMAC with all five of its starters scoring 10+ points per game (along with Westminster), but what has impressed is how much that scoring has been spread around. Six different Orediggers have been the team's high scorer in a game this year, led by Mason Baker (10 times) and Ben Sonnefeld (5 times). Brendan Sullivan has been the high scorer four times with Ben Clare at three, and Michael Glen and Joe Miks have one apiece.

ON THE LINE
Mines has been outstanding at the free throw line this season, leading the RMAC at .769 and ranking among the national leaders in free throws made (402, 13th) and percentage (30th). Since Mines set the RMAC single-game record going 24-for-24 at the line earlier this season, the Orediggers have shot .800 or better from the stripe in seven of nine games, including .850 or better in each of their last four; in that nine-game span, Mines is shooting .836 at the line and is getting there an average of 23.7 times per game.

OREDIGGERS HONORED FOR ACADEMICS
Last week, four Orediggers were named to the RMAC All-Academic teams for their classroom performance. Ben Clare and Ben Sonnefeld were each named RMAC All-Academic First-Team, while Michael Glen and Luke Golter were named to the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll.

MINES NOTABLES
Mines is trying to win its 10th RMAC regular-season title and fifth this decade under head coach Pryor Orser (2011, 2012, 2015, 2017) … Only Northern Colorado (11) and Colorado Mesa (10) have won more … The Orediggers are 10-0 at home and have won 13 straight dating back to last season … Mines had its best shooting night of the season against Chadron State on Friday (29-44, .659) and its worst RMAC shooting performance of the season on Saturday against MSU Denver (22-52, .423) … Mines' 66 points vs. MSU Denver was its lowest point total in RMAC play this season … Ben Sonnefeld is averaging 17.0 points per game over the last three … Ben Clare officially leads the RMAC in shooting percentage at .590; Austin Means is shooting an eye-popping .642 but does not meet the minimum number of shots to be ranked … Mason Baker is second in the RMAC in free-throw shooting (.874) … Michael Glen's 5.5 defensive rebounds per game is third in the RMAC, and he ranks sixth overall (7.2 rpg) … Despite being the #2 scoring team in the RMAC (83.5 ppg), Mines has no individual in the RMAC top-10 in scoring and only Mason Baker and Ben Sonnefeld in the top 25 … The Orediggers' +13.7 point differential per game is more than double that of New Mexico Highlands (+6.7).

EARLIER THIS SEASON
In probably their biggest test of the season so far, Mines came back from a 17-point deficit to beat New Mexico Highlands 81-78 on Feb. 2. Ben Sonnefeld tied his career high with 26 points including the go-ahead three-pointer with 21 seconds left. Michael Glen scored 15 with a crucial late three of his own. Mines held the Cowboys to 28 points in the second half after they led 50-46 at the break.

At CSU-Pueblo on Feb. 1, Mines cruised 90-67 as Mason Baker scored 19, Michael Glen had 18, and Ben Clare recorded a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double. The Orediggers never trailed in the game, leading by double-digits within the first 10 minutes as Baker scored 17 points in the first half alone. The Orediggers shot .532 for the game.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
New Mexico Highlands comes in at 16-7 overall and 11-6 in RMAC play, having lost two of their last three including a 66-65 setback to Black Hills State on Saturday. The high-paced Cowboys are the RMAC's highest-scoring team at 86.9 points per game led by Gerad Davis (20.4 ppg) and Raquan Mitchell (18.8); they also generate an RMAC-best 17.8 turnovers per game thanks to a high-pressure defense.

CSU-Pueblo is in the midst of a tough season at 6-17 overall and 4-13 in the RMAC. The Thunderwolves have lost eight of their last nine with their lone win in that span against UCCS on Feb. 2. Donovan Oldham leads the team scoring 13.3 points per game with Jason Anderson at 10.5.

LOOKING AHEAD
Mines heads to Black Hills State (Feb. 22) and South Dakota Mines (Feb. 23) next week.