GOLDEN, Colo. - MSU Denver pushed #12/15 Colorado School of Mines to the limit, but the Orediggers prevailed in a 66-60 decision to win their 19th straight game.

The Orediggers (20-3, 17-0 RMAC) pulled within a game of clinching the RMAC regular-season championship as they outlasted the Roadrunners (8-13, 6-11 RMAC) in a defensive showcase by both teams. Mines held the Roadrunners to just .371 shooting while shooting only .423 themselves.

Mason Baker led the way with 15 points while Ben Sonnefeld added 13, including a clutch 6-for-6 performance at the line late in the game. Mines had to overcome foul trouble to its frontcourt tandem of Ben Clare and Michael Glen, with Austin Means providing eight points off the bench. 

Free throw shooting was the difference for Mines hitting 19-of-22 as MSU Denver took 10 more shots (62 to 52) than Mines on the back of 16 offensive rebounds. Druce Asah led all scorers with 19 points for the Roadrunners, their only player in double figures.

Neither team led by more than four in the first half as an Enrique Cortes Zotes jumper with 1:40 left gave the Roadrunners a 25-23 lead at halftime; it was more of the same to start the second half until an 8-2 run by Mines put some space in the game, and a Means layup with 14:49 left extended the lead to eight points at 39-31. 

The Roadrunners, however, chipped away over the next seven minutes and tied the game at 45 with an Asah three-pointer at the 7:39 mark. Mines would immediately retake the lead on Brendan Sullivan's jumper, and despite MSU Denver making it a one-possession game on multiple occasions, the Orediggers would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way. Mines went up as much as eight late when Sonnefeld hit a runner with 2:29 left, but another Asah three cut the lead to 60-55; a Marcus Jefferson three with 40 seconds left made it 62-58 Mines, and after Jaryn Taylor cut it to 62-60 with two free throws, Sonnefeld and Michael Glen went 4-for-4 at the line in the final 16 seconds to ice the game.

NOTABLES
- After breaking the program record for consecutive wins on Friday night, Mines extended the streak to 19 games. It is the second-longest active streak in NCAA Division II behind unbeaten Northwest Missouri State (23-0) and the third-longest in all of college basketball with Wisconsin-Oshkosh (NCAA D-III) at 21 straight.
- Mines lowered its "magic number" to one to clinch at least a share of the RMAC title and two to win it outright. At 17-0, Mines is four games ahead of second-place Regis with five left to play. 
- Mines improved to 10-0 at home this season.
- The Orediggers won their 20th game of the season, marking their sixth straight 20-win season and eighth under head coach Pryor Orser.
- Mines' 66 points were its lowest total of the year in an RMAC game. The Orediggers' two lowest totals (66 and 77) both came against the Roadrunners.
- Mines outscored MSU Denver 43-35 in the second half, the 14th straight game they've done so.
- MSU Denver outrebounded Mines 37-35, only the third time they've been outrebounded this season.
- A night after shooting a season-best .659 from the floor, Mines was held to .423, their lowest in an RMAC game this season. 
- Ben Sonnefeld took over third place on the Mines career assists list with three in the game; he now has 418.
- Both Sullivan and Glen ended with 10 points; Glen led Mines with nine rebounds and three blocks. 

NEXT UP
Mines stays at home to host New Mexico Highlands Friday at 8 p.m.