SPEARFISH, S.D. - #11/13 Colorado School of Mines survived a tough road test at Black Hills State, pulling away late to win 73-69 to improve to 20-0 in RMAC play.

The Orediggers (23-3, 20-0 RMAC) continued their incredible run with their 22nd straight victory, keying on a 13-4 run midway through the second half to break open a tie game. The Yellow Jackets (14-10, 13-7 RMAC) entered the night tied for third place in the RMAC standings and were playing for RMAC Tournament positioning.

It was another distributed team effort on the offensive end as every player who saw minutes scored at least three points, led by Mason Baker (15), Ben Clare (14), and Ben Sonnefeld (13). Mines overcame an uncharacteristically down shooting night by their standards at .448, but used another huge defensive second half to stop the Yellow Jackets, holding them to .379 overall after the break. Makaleb McInnis scored a game-high 26 for Black Hills State and Stefan Desnica had 15.

Black Hills State got off to a hot 7-0 start and led for most of the first half until a 10-2 run in the closing minutes put the Orediggers ahead for the first time, and Baker's buzzer-beating layup made it 39-36 Mines at the half. The two sides dueled it out to start the second half as the first eight minutes featured eight lead changes and three ties, but a little 6-0 spurt by Mines starting at the 12:08 mark on buckets by Clare, Sonnefeld, and Brendan Sullivan put some space into the game at 55-51.

Mines would not trail after that as Luke Golter canned a three from the corner at 9:55 to go up 58-53, and a later 7-3 run capped by Michael Glen's backdoor jam from Sonnefeld virtually sealed the game at 69-61. BHSU made things interesting with five straight free throws before both Baker and Joe Miks made pairs at the stripe in the closing seconds; Tyler Oliver's three-pointer at the buzzer was academic in the 73-69 final.

NOTABLES
- The Orediggers, who have already wrapped up the RMAC regular-season championship, became the first team in Mines history to be 20-0 in RMAC play. 
- Mines won the rebounding battle 39-31.
- Mines outscored Black Hills State 34-33 in the second half, marking the 17th straight games Mines has outscored its opponent after halftime.
- The Orediggers had a season-nine steals as both Ben Sonnefeld and Mason Baker made four thefts each; both tied their career highs. Mines forced 9 of BHSU's 11 turnovers. 
- Sonnefeld stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, a team-high eight rebounds and five assists, and four steals. Baker was also outstanding with a team-high 15 points to go with three boards, an assist, and four steals.
- Mines shot 18-for-22 (.818) from the free throw line to 9-for-13 (.692) for the Yellow Jackets. 
- The Mines bench continued its ramp up in production, providing 23 points to just four from BHSU's reserves. Joe Mikes and Luke Golter each scored seven, and Austin Means had six.
- With a 4-for-4 night at the line, Means has now made 13 consecutive free throws over the last two games.
- Ben Clare logged his 100th career game.
- Mines swept the season series from BHSU, also beating the Yellow Jackets 78-67 on Jan. 19. 

NEXT UP
Mines heads east on I-90 to face South Dakota Mines Saturday at 5:30 p.m.