Mines at UCCS, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Stats] 

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MINES VISITS UCCS IN SOLO WEEKEND CONTEST
After not playing since Dec. 2, Colorado School of Mines (3-3, 1-1 RMAC) returns to action Saturday to visit UCCS (7-1, 2-0 RMAC) in an RMAC game. It will be the only contest of the weekend for the Orediggers. The game will stream live on the RMAC Network.

MASKS REQUIRED FOR FANS AT UCCS
Like home games at Lockridge Arena, fans are reminded that masks are required for indoor events at UCCS. 

LAST TIME OUT
Mines picked up its first conference win of the young season with a big defensive effort to cruise past South Dakota Mines, 64-42 on Dec. 2. The Orediggers got contributions from all over the floor led by Ben Boone's 18 points as they held the Hardrockers to just .288 shooting overall. The Orediggers shot .466 for the game and ended the first half on an 11-1 run to take control of the game, holding the Hardrockers without a field goal for an 8:21 stretch and never looking back.

AT THE HELM
The 2020-21 season marks the 21st on the bench for Mines head coach Pryor Orser. Under Orser, Mines has gone 382-204, won five RMAC regular-season championships and two RMAC Tournament titles, and qualified for 11 NCAA Tournaments. His 269 RMAC wins (269-141 overall) are the second-most in conference history, and he has the chance to reach two milestones this season. His overall wins are currently five behind Mines all-time leader Jim Darden (386 wins), and he could become only the second RMAC coach to reach 400 career victories as well. 

BOONE LEADS THE WAY
Ben Boone is having a breakout senior season as he leads the team with 16.8 points per game. Boone has surpassed 17 points in five contests including 19.5 points per game in RMAC play so far as he dropped 21 against Regis and 18 against South Dakota Mines. His three-point shooting has been a key asset for the Orediggers as he is .500 (11-of-22) over his last three outings and .450 for the season.

DOUBLING UP
Brendan Sullivan notched his fourth career double-double - and the first by an Oredigger this season - in last week's contest against Regis. Sullivan had 20 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in that game. This season, the all-American is averaging 15.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game shooting .536.

ROOKIE IMPACT
Freshman center Adam Krasovec has been the lone rookie to impact the lineup this season, and he's coming off a career game against South Dakota Mines. Krasovec scored a career-high 12 points in that contest and added five rebounds, three assists, and a block. The Hungary native is averaging 5.2 points in 13.5 minutes per game this season.

A HISTORIC DEFENSIVE NIGHT
When the Orediggers defeated South Dakota Mines 64-42 last week, it marked a historic defensive effort by Mines with their best scoring defense effort in 15 years. The last time Mines held an opponent to 42 points was against Chadron State in the 2005-06 season.

MINES VS. UCCS SERIES
UCCS is red-hot at 7-1, with their lone loss this season a neutral-site game against Texas A&M International. The Mountain Lions dispatched CSU Pueblo 76-59 and Adams State 85-78 to start RMAC play. The high-scoring squad averages 89.9 points per game led by Alijah Comithier's 22.7 points per game. Jon'il Fugett is their only other player in double digits (10.6 ppg) but six other players average 6.0 or more per game as the Mountain Lions go 12 deep. Mines leads the all-time series against UCCS 35-12, winning two in a row and five of the last six games. Last season, Mines won 64-54 in Golden as Michael Glen had 17 points and Ben Boone scored 14 second-half points on the way to 16.Jezza McKenzie leads the team with 6.5 rebounds per game and Parker Gaddis adds 5.3 assists per game.

LOOKING AHEAD
Mines stays on the road to visit Western Colorado (Dec. 17) and Fort Lewis (Dec. 18) before breaking for the holidays.