GOLDEN, Colo. - Pryor Orser tied the Colorado School of Mines all-time wins mark as his Orediggers used a dominating defensive performance to halt Colorado Mesa 68-58.

Kai Barr's 16-point return to the lineup sparked the Orediggers (7-7, 5-5 RMAC) to the win as both Ben Boone and Brendan Sullivan scored 15. The Mavericks (14-7, 8-4 RMAC) dropped their second in three games.

Orser, in his 21st season, ties the legendary Jim Darden with 386 wins in Golden. Darden coached Mines from 1954 to 1992. 

The best shooting team in the RMAC, Colorado Mesa was held to .373 overall from the floor including an ice-cold .292 in the second half as Mines pulled away and stayed away after the Mavericks erased a 12-point first-half deficit to lead. They were paced by Georgie Dancer's 16 points. 

Mines led by as much as a dozen points in the first half, but a Jared Small three-pointer with just over five minutes to go sparked an 18-4 run to end the first half as Mesa ended up leading 34-32 at halftime.

The Orediggers quickly figured things out and opened the second half with an 11-0 run, and they never trailed after that. Kobi Betts' floater in the paint extended the lead to 14 at 50-36, but the Mavericks would not go away quietly as they chipped away at the lead and drew as close as six, 58-52, after a Dancer jumper with 4:54 remaining. Free throws by Betts and Barr kept it a three-possession game, however, as CMU was held to only six points in the final five minutes of the game.

NOTABLES
- Barr was simply superb in his first game since Dec. 17, going 5-for-9 overall, 6-for-8 at the line, and collecting six rebounds, three blocks, and two steals off the bench.
- Boone led Mines with seven rebounds to go with his 15 points.
- Sullivan was an efficient 6-of-7 and added two blocks, a steal, and four rebounds. In his last three games, Sullivan is shooting an impressive 24-of-34 (.706) from the floor. 
- Mines dominated the paint leading 37-28 in rebounding and 38-26 in points in the paint.
- Mines won for the first time in its last four meetings against CMU, avenging a one-point overtime loss in last year's RMAC Tournament final.
- With the RMAC's top scoring defense heading into the weekend, Mines held its opponent to below 60 for the second straight game and fifth time this season. 

NEXT UP
The Orediggers host Westminster Saturday at 7 p.m.