SALT LAKE CITY - Colorado School of Mines' rally fell just short as Westminster hung on for a 68-66 win to open 2020.

The Orediggers (8-5, 4-2 RMAC) trailed by nine with 2:35 remaining, but cut the Westminster lead to a point after an 8-0 run that stretched into the final minute.

The Griffins (8-4, 3-3 RMAC) received free throws from Joonas Tahvanainen and Jai Jai Ely in the final minute to stay ahead as Mines had three different possessions to either tie or go ahead in a while last 30 seconds.

Mason Baker led all scorers with 23 points and Michael Glen added 12 with nine rebounds. Jake Connor led Westminster with 17 and Alec Monson scored 13. 

Westminster led nearly the entire way after the opening minutes, and grew their advantage to as much as 15 just before halftime as Mines suffered a dismal 34.4 percent shooting clip in the first half and had key personnel in foul trouble. 

The Orediggers pulled as close as five early in the second half before a 10-2 Westminster run made it 57-46 with 7:46 to go; the lead hovered around 10 until Mines' comeback attempt began with less than three minutes remaining. Mines scored six of its eight points in the 8-0 stretch at the line thanks to Baker and Titus Reed, while Glen added a layup to flip the 65-56 score into a 65-64 game with 57 seconds left. 

Tahvanainen made one of two free throws before an Ely steal led to him making one foul shot; Mines then had several looks in the final 10 seconds as Reed's three-pointer to tie went off the mark and Baker made two of three free throw tries. Connor went to the line with two seconds left and missed both shots, but Baker's halfcourter to win it was just off the mark at the buzzer.

NOTABLES
- Baker stuffed the stat sheet with five rebounds, four assists, and a block to go with his 23 points. He was 10-of-11 at the line. He now has 962 career points as he approaches 1,000 in his junior season.
- Glen set a season high with four blocks.
- Paul O'Leary led Mines' bench with eight points in 11 minutes. 
- The Orediggers, one of the nation's top three-point shooting teams in the first half, shot a season-low 3-of-24 from beyond the arc. Westminster was 8-of-17.
- Mines outrebounded the Griffins 41-32.
- Westminster improved to 28-24 in the all-time series.

NEXT UP
Mines visits #13 Dixie State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.