#11/13 Mines at Black Hills State, Friday, 7:30 p.m. [Live Video] [Live Stats]
#11/13 Mines at South Dakota Mines, Saturday, 5:30 p.m. [Live Video] [Live Stats]
 

---

THE WEEKEND AHEAD
The Orediggers head to the Mount Rushmore State for two games this weekend, visiting Black Hills State on Friday and South Dakota Mines on Saturday. Although the RMAC championship has already been won, there is still work to be done; the remaining three regular-season games are crucial toward the regional rankings as the Orediggers eye the postseason.

THE CHAMPS ARE HERE
Colorado School of Mines won the outright RMAC regular-season championship last weekend with wins over New Mexico Highlands and CSU-Pueblo, remaining perfect in league play at 19-0. The Orediggers won their fifth title under head coach Pryor Orser and will be the RMAC Tournament's #1 seed.

THE STREAK CONTINUES
With its two wins last weekend, Mines continued its record-setting streak, which now sits at 21 in a row. The Orediggers, after starting out 1-3 this season, have not lost a game in more than three months, since losing at Nebraska-Kearney on Nov. 18. 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 also second in NCAA basketball ahead of Gonzaga's current 16-game run.

Longest Active Win Streaks in NCAA Basketball
Northwest Missouri State - 25 (NCAA D-II)
Colorado School of Mines - 21 (NCAA D-II)
Gonzaga - 16 (NCAA D-I)

IN THE RANKINGS
Mines appeared third in the first edition of the NCAA South Central regional rankings this week, trailing St. Edward's and West Texas A&M. Texas A&M-Commerce, Angelo State, Dallas Baptist, Lubbock Christian, and Dixie State rounded out the top eight. The regional rankings help select the field for the NCAA Championship following the completion of conference tournaments. In the national polls, Mines stayed the same at #11 in the NABC poll and #13 in the D2SIDA top-25.

LAST TIME OUT
Mines ran away from New Mexico Highlands 100-73 on Friday, solving the Cowboys' press as Michael Glen, Ben Clare, and Joe Miks each scored 19 and Ben Sonnefeld had 17 points, eight boards, and six assists. Mines never trailed after the opening minutes with an early 15-2 run to take control of the game, holding the RMAC's #1 scoring offense to just 27 first-half points. On Saturday, Mines sewed up the RMAC regular-season title with a comprehensive 93-56 win over CSU-Pueblo, outscoring the Thunderwolves 52-29 in the second to put the game away. Austin Means led the way with 23 off the bench as five Orediggers were in double figures.

SECOND HALF SUCCESS
Mines has been a very good team any way you cut it this season, but in the second half, they have been absolutely exceptional this season. In RMAC play, the Orediggers are shooting .518 in the first half to opponents' .464; after halftime, it's a completely different story as Mines' shooting jumps to .570 and opponents are held to just .411. The three-point shooting in the second half (.458 to .301) is especially eye-popping, and Mines is +4.4 on rebounds and +10.7 on scoring in the second half. Leading the way are Mines' post players: Austin Means shoots a gaudy .714 in the second half with Ben Clare at .676 and Michael Glen at .627. Mines has outscored opponents in the second half in 16 consecutive games.

A HELPING HAND
Last Saturday, senior point guard Ben Sonnefeld surpassed former teammate Gokul Natesan for second at Mines on the career assist chart, and he now has 430 helpers in his career. Sonnefeld is averaging a career-high 4.4 assists per game this season, and leads the RMAC and is 13th in NCAA Division II in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.03.

TAKE A SHOT
Heading into this weekend, Mines leads the RMAC in all three shooting categories – overall (.516), three-point (.419), and free throw (.773). The Orediggers have shot .500 or better in six of their last seven games, including .654 on Saturday against CSU-Pueblo; Mines is also coming off an excellent weekend from deep, hitting 22-of-38 (.579) from beyond the arc vs. New Mexico Highlands and CSU-Pueblo. Mines ranks fifth in the nation in field-goal percentage and fourth in three-point shooting percentage.

ON THE LINE
Mines has been especially outstanding at the free throw line this season, leading the RMAC at .773 and ranking among the national leaders in free throws made (439, 10th) and percentage (25th). Since Mines set the RMAC single-game record going 24-for-24 at the line earlier this season against Fort Lewis, the Orediggers have shot .800 or better from the stripe in eight of 10 games, including .850 or better in four of their last five; in that 11-game span, Mines is shooting .833 at the line and is getting there an average of 23.5 times per game.

OFF THE BENCH
The Mines bench is coming off arguably its best weekend of the season, combining for 27 points against New Mexico Highlands and a season-high 48 against CSU-Pueblo. Joe Miks led the way with 19 vs. NMHU, while it was Austin Means who had a career-high 23 Saturday against CSU-Pueblo; Miks added 11 and Luke Golter seven in that game.

OREDIGGERS HONORED FOR ACADEMICS
Earlier this month, 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 NEWS AND NOTES
Mines' RMAC title is their 10th regular-season crown all-time, and fifth this decade under head coach Pryor Orser (2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019) … Only Northern Colorado (11) has won more; Mines is now tied with Colorado Mesa for the most among active members … The Orediggers are 12-0 at home and have won 15 straight dating back to last season … Across all sports, Mines teams have already won six RMAC regular-season and two RMAC Tournament championships this year; that marks the most regular-season titles ever in a year for Mines Athletics and has already tied the total RMAC championships in a year at eight, set in both 2015-16 and 2016-17 … Luke Golter had a game to remember against CSU-Pueblo; the redshirt junior played a career-high 25 minutes and scored seven points to go with five rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and a steal, and either matched or surpassed his career highs in each of those categories other than scoring … Mines has had its two best shooting games of the season in back-to-back weekends, hitting at a .569 clip vs. Chadron State and a .654 rate against CSU-Pueblo ... … Over his last five games, Ben Sonnefeld is averaging 16.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game ... Mason Baker dished a career-high nine assists vs. NMHU … Joe Miks averaged 15.0 points per game off the bench last weekend … Austin Means shot 7-for-9 and went a career-best 9-for-9 at the line vs. CSU-Pueblo to create his career-high 23 points ... Ben Clare has scored in double figures in eight of his last nine games … Despite being the #2 scoring team in the RMAC (84.5 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' +15.2 point differential per game is more than double that of the next closest RMAC team, Regis (+6.4).

EARLIER THIS SEASON
Mines beat Black Hills State 78-67 back on Jan. 19, shaking off the Yellow Jackets with a second-half turnaround to win. Mines shot 76.2 percent in the second half compared to 41.4 percent in the first after leading 34-30 at halftime. Mason Baker and Ben Clare each scored 17 and Michael Glen had a double-double; Ben Sonnefeld scored 11 with nine assists.

The Orediggers cruised past South Dakota Mines 93-71 on Jan. 18 led by Brendan Sullivan's career-high 20 points. Ben Sonnefeld drained 16 and Michael Glen had 15 with seven rebounds. Mines again had a big second half, shooting 67.9 percent to outscore SDSMT 51-36 after the break.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Black Hills State is battling for a playoff spot, currently tied for third in the RMAC at 14-9 overall and 13-6 in conference play. After losing to Mines in January, BHSU reeled off six straight wins and have won seven of their last eight since then. Fraser Malcolm leads them with 16.0 points per game while Tyler Oliver scored 11.2 with a team-high 5.7 rebounds per game. BHSU has the RMAC's #4-rated defense at 70.7 points per game.

South Dakota Mines enters the weekend 11-16 overall and 8-11 in RMAC play, and are on the outside looking in to make the postseason. They have gone 4-5 since matching up with the Orediggers in January. SDSMT holds the RMAC's #3 defense at 70.6 points allowed per game, but ranks last in the RMAC in offense at 68.4 ppg. Mitchel Sueker is their leading scorer at 14.3 ppg, followed by Allec Williams at 13.0 ppg.

LOOKING AHEAD
Mines closes the regular season at home against UCCS on March 1 at 8 p.m. The RMAC Tournament begins March 5 with a home quarterfinal at a time to be announced.