Mines at Western Colorado, Friday, 7 p.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Stats] 
Mines at Fort Lewis, Saturday, 7 p.m. [RMAC Network] [Live Stats] 

---

MINES MAKES WESTERN SLOPE SWING
Coming off a key road win at UCCS last weekend, Colorado School of Mines (4-3) ends the fall semester with a mountain road trip to visit Western Colorado (2-8) on Friday and Fort Lewis (7-3) on Saturday. Both contests will stream live on the RMAC Network as the Orediggers wrap up play before the holiday break.

LAST TIME OUT
Mines shut down one of the nation's highest-scoring offenses to win a key road game at UCCS, 75-70, on Saturday. Kobi Betts led the way with 17 points and Adam Krasovec drained a career-high 16, while Brendan Sullivan scored 14 as Mines shot a season-best .509 and held UCCS to .422 for the game, including 4-of-23 for three. The win put Mines on the right side of .500 in the RMAC at 2-1. 

KOBI COMES UP CLUTCH
Kobi Betts' UCCS game marked a season-best for the senior as he drained 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting and went 5-of-6 at the line. Betts was especially clutch in the waning moments of the game, scoring the Orediggers' final two field goals to take the lead and then icing the game with two late free throws; he scored seven of Mines' last 10 points in the game.

ROOKIE IMPACT
Freshman center Adam Krasovec has been the lone rookie to impact the lineup this season, and he's coming off consecutive career games against South Dakota Mines and UCCS. Krasovec had 12 points and five rebounds against SDM on Dec. 2, then followed that up with 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists in 30 minutes - all surpassing or match career highs - at UCCS. This season the Hungary native is averaging 6.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 0.7 blocks per game.

AT THE HELM
The 2020-21 season marks the 21st on the bench for Mines head coach Pryor Orser. Under Orser, Mines has gone 383-204, won five RMAC regular-season championships and two RMAC Tournament titles, and qualified for 11 NCAA Tournaments. His 270 RMAC wins (270-141 overall) are the second-most in conference history, and he has the chance to reach two milestones this season. His overall wins are currently three 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. 

SHUT THEM DOWN
Mines enters the weekend with the RMAC's #1 scoring defense at 61.0 points per game, nearly four points better than MSU Denver's #2 pace of 64.8. Mines has been even better than their average in RMAC play at 59.3 points allowed through three games, including only 42 given up to South Dakota Mines on Dec. 2. The Orediggers' scoring defense ranks 12th nationally.

GLEN EARNS GRADUATION HONOR
Former Oredigger post player Michael Glen will earn his B.S. in mechanical engineering on Friday, and the four-time all-RMAC standout was named one of two President's Senior Scholar-Athletes this week in recognition of his outstanding career. Glen, who wrapped up his fourth and final season last spring, is the only player in Mines basketball history to compile 1000+ points, 700+ rebounds, and 150+ blocks, ranking third all-time in program history in blocks, and finished his career with 1,294 points and 757 rebounds averaging 11.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game over 114 career starts. Academically, Glen was a two-time RMAC First-Team All-Academic selection and one-time RMAC Academic Honor Roll member. 

MINES VS. WESTERN COLORADO
The most-played and oldest continuous series in Mines Basketball dating back to 1925, the Orediggers will meet the Mountaineers for the 185th time on Friday with WCU holding a 98-86 all-time lead. Mines has won four straight and 12 of the last 13, however. Last season, Mines won 103-82 in Gunnison and 67-57 at home; Brendan Sullivan starred in the road trip with 26 points and Michael Glen dropped in 22 with Kobi Betts adding 19. 

This season the Mountaineers are 2-8 overall and 1-3 in RMAC play, but are coming off a win over MSU Denver on Saturday, 78-64. They are led by the high-scoring Matthew Ragsdale, who averages 21.7 points per game and has 24 three-pointers in 10 outings; he scored 53 on an eye-popping 20-of-25 night against Black Hills State on Dec. 3. Elijah Davidson adds 5.6 rebounds per game and Avery Rembao scored 12.6 points per game.

MINES VS. FORT LEWIS
The Orediggers and Skyhawks match up for the 92nd time since 1968, with Mines' current eight-game win streak the longest in the history of the series. Last season the Orediggers won the home-and-home in two close games, 79-73 in Golden and 67-63 in Durango; in the latter, then-#1 Mines clawed back from 13 points down at halftime led by Brendan Sullivan's 20 second-half points as he sparked a 22-7 run to end the game with a win. 

The Skyhawks are out to a solid start to their season at 7-3 overall and 3-1 in RMAC play, winning two in a row with their only conference loss coming by a bucket to Black Hills State on Dec. 4. Riley Farris once again leads them with 20.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, with Akuel Kot pitching in 13.4 points and Brendan Boatwright 12.6. The Skyhawks score a ton at 88.2 points per game, more than +14 a night compared to opponents.

LOOKING AHEAD
Mines returns home to host Chadron State on New Year's Eve at 4 p.m., then plays Black Hills State to open 2022 at 4 p.m. on Jan. 1.