#21 Mines (2-0) vs. Cal State East Bay (1-1) – Friday, 5 p.m. PT – Seaside, Calif [Live Stats] [CCAA Network]
#21 Mines (2-0) at Cal State Monterey Bay (1-1) – Saturday, 5 p.m. PT – Seaside, Calif [Live Stats] [CCAA Network]

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WESTWARD BOUND
The #21 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team continues their non-conference slate of games this weekend wih a trip out to California for the Otter Invitational to take on Cal State East Bay on Friday at 5 p.m. PT before taking on the hosts this weekend, Cal State Monterey Bay, Saturday evening, also at 5 p.m. PT.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The match this weekend will be available on pay per view on the CCAA Network and will have live stats through Sidearm.

AT THE HELM
Entering his 22nd season in Golden, head coach Pryor Orser is the winningest coach in program history and enters the 2022-23 season on the cusp of 400 career wins, owning a career mark of 397-212 and a 282-146 mark in RMAC play, the second-most wins in conference history. Under Orser, Mines has won five RMAC regular-season championships and two RMAC Tournament titles, and qualified for 11 NCAA Tournaments including two Elite Eight trips. 
 
IN THE POLLS
The Orediggers were tabbed to finish third in the RMAC in the preseason poll, receiving 169 points and a first-place vote. Black Hills State garnered 196 points and the remaining 14 first-place votes while Colorado Mesa was picked second, earning 178 points. Fort Lewis (152) and UCCS (138) rounded out the top five in the poll. On the national stage, the Orediggers received votes in the initial NABC Coaches Poll and debuted in the D2SIDA Media Poll this week at #21. Black Hills State remained at #5 in the D2SIDA Poll while Colorado Mesa jumped five spots to #15.
 
WEEK 1 RECAP
The Orediggers started the 2022-23 season by going 2-0 at the Conference Challenge at Regis against St. Mary's (TX) and Lubbock Christian, winning Friday night over the Rattlers 87-65 before rallying late to overcome a second half deficit in a 69-66 win over the Chaps. Friday night, newcomer Adam Thistlewood shined in his Mines debut, leading all scorers with 18 points on 4-6 shooting, including 3-4 from deep and missed out on a double-double by one rebound. He was joined in double-figures by Ben Boone and Brendan Sullivan as the Orediggers shot 53.6% for the game. Saturday saw another newcomer in Sam Beskind lead the way for Mines in a come-from-behind effort, as he finished with a career-high 16 points and was a perfect 7-7 from the floor with four rebounds and six assists. Boone, Thistlewood and Sullivan each finished in double-figures with 12, 12 and 10 points respectively as the Orediggers shot nearly 61% from the floor in the second half while holding LCU in check defensively to take the lead with just over four minutes to play and hanging on for the win.
 
SULLY'S SUPERLATIVES
Brendan Sullivan accumulated seven more honors following last season, including his second consecutive CoSIDA Academic All-America honor, second consecutive RMAC Academic Player of the Year award, RMAC First Team All-Academic for the third straight year as well as NABC Second Team All-District Laurels. He also wrapped up his undergraduate studies at Mines, completing a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering in May and is now pursuing a Master's in Engineering Technology & Management. Through his first four seasons in a mines uniform, Sully's earned 25 honors, achievements and accolades; he might want to look into adding a shelf or two in order to have enough room for them all.
 
HELLO, MY NAME IS….
Several new faces join the Orediggers this season, including a pair of Division I transfers. Golden native Adam Thistlewood returns to play for his hometown team after a standout four-year career at Colorado State in which he etched his name all over the Rams record books. Sam Beskind arrives in Mines after four seasons at Stanford and already having earned a Bachelor's and Master's degree during his time with the Cardinal. They are joined by a trio of freshmen in guard Dom Girish and forwards John Derrick and Wade Kahl.
 
GRIZZLED VETERANS
Mines isn't short on experienced returners this season either, as Ben Boone, Trent Dykema and Brendan Sullivan are all back for a fifth year. Sullivan led the team in scoring last season, averaging 15.0 PPG and shooting 51% from the floor and hitting from beyond the arc nearly 39% of the time He also led the team in rebounding, pulling down 133 boards and averaging nearly five per contest. He also led the Orediggers with 35 steals and 24 blocks en route to First Team All-RMAC honors. Boone, an Honorable Mention All-RMAC selection last season, is coming off a year in which he dished out a team-high 59 assists while still scoring better than 13 PPG and shooting 46.5% from the floor, including a scorching 43.7% from three-point land. Dykema was a key contributor off the bench last season, shooting over 40% from the field and from beyond the arc while going turning in a perfect season from the free throw line.
 
CLIMBING THE RANKS
Continuing a storyline from last season, Brendan Sullivan continues to make his mark as one of the most prolific scorers in Orediggers history. He enters this season with 1,515 careers points and is coming off the second 400-point campaign of his career in 2021-22. Just about a 52% shooter in his career, Sully has his eyes on continuing his march up the all-time scoring list. Additionally, he's just 31 assists away from 250 for his career and would become the 10th player in program history to hit that milestone. His 128 steals currently rank fifth all-time and he trails Farris Broussard (2000-05) by just two for fourth all-time.
 
RAISING THE BARR
Kai Barr took a big step forward in 2021-22 despite fighting through injury last season. The redshirt junior posted career bests in scoring (8.9 PPG), rebounding (4.2 RPG), assists (1.1 APG) and blocks (0.8 BPG), and is the fourth-leading returning scorer entering this season. He scored 19 on three occasions and put up double-figures in four of Mines' last six games.

SCOUTING CAL STATE EAST BAY
The Pioneers opened the season at the Stanislaus State Crossover Classic with a 71-60 win over Fresno Pacific on Friday before dropping a 68-62 decision to Point Loma on day two of the event Saturday. Three players are in double-figure scoring to begin the season for East Bay, led by Dimitrios Klonaras and Grady Lewis at 16.0 PPG. Klonarus is shooting .480 from the floor and also leads the team with 19 rebounds and six steals in the early going while Lewis is shooting .722 from the floor and averaging 5.0 RPG. Chris James rounds out the group, averaging 11.0 points and also 5.0 rebounds per game. The Pioneers are shooting .463 as a team from the field, but just .259 from beyond the arc through two games.  

SCOUTING CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY
The Otters headed to Oregon to open their season last weekend at the GNAC/CCAA Crossover hosted by Western Oregon. Monterey Bay picked up a win their first game over Central Washington 77-57 before dropping an 87-80 contest against the host Wolves. Three players are scoring better than 10 PPG to begin the new season for the Otters, led by Joe Wall with an eye-popping 21.5 PPG who is shooting .406 from the floor and .435 from three-point land after posting 22 and 21 points in the first two games. Levi Frankland enters at 14.5 PPG and is shooting .444 from the floor while Jailen Nelson is at 10.0 PPG and leads the team with 15 rebounds, eight assists and seven steals in the early offing. As a team, the Otters are shooting .473 from the floor and .435 from three while holding opponents to a .237 rate from deep.
 
CHECKING THE STAT SHEET
Currently four Orediggers are averaging double-figure scoring in the early going, led by Adam Thistlewood at 15.0 PPG, who is shooting .471 from the floor and .500 from three while also pulling down a team-high 16 rebounds. Ben Boone checks in this week with 13.5 PPG and is shooting from the field at a .550 clip and has a team-best four steals. Sam Beskind follows at 11.5 PPG and leads the way with 11 assists while also pulling down 4.5 rebounds per game. The Stanford transfer is shooting .800 from the field and is 7-8 from the free throw line through two games. Brendan Sullivan isn't far behind with 11.0 PPG and is shooting .667 from the floor and .500 from three-point land while also pulling down 4.5 RPG. Adam Krasovec and Kai Barr are both averaging seven or more points per game and are a combined .750 shooting the ball this season while Riley Schroeder has three blocks to lead the team heading into week two.
 
SERIES HISTORY
This weekend will be the first-ever meetings between Mines, Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay. All-time against foes from the state of California, the Orediggers are 12-13.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Orediggers wrap up non-conference play when they return home to Golden for a pair of games after the Thanksgiving holiday, beginning Friday November 25 against Kansas Wesleyan before taking on Westcliff Saturday November 26. Both games will tip-off at 5 p.m. at Lockridge Arena.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines men's basketball on Twitter at @minesmbb. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.