SEASIDE, Calif. – On the strength of a big night from the free throw line, the #21 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team remained unbeaten to begin the 2022-23 season Friday night in the opening game of the Otter Invitational, assembling another second half rally to defeat Cal State East Bay 77-71.
 
The Orediggers (3-0) managed to overcome a slow start shooting the ball in both halves and saw double-figure outings from a trio of players, led by Brendan Sullivan, and were nearly perfect from the free throw line in game, rallying to take the lead with five minutes to play to open the weekend with a win over the Pioneers (1-2).
 
The night started off slow for the Orediggers shooting the ball, as they missed their six shots of the night while Cal State East Bay opened the night on an 8-0 run over the first 3:19. Riley Schroeder got the Orediggers on the board with a pair of free throws at 16:15 but the Pioneers answered with a Tim Andreolli three to push their lead to nine at 11-2 to open a back-and-forth sequence as the teams traded baskets, as Kai Barr and Ben Boone connected on layups around one from CSUEB to make it 13-6 with 15 to play in the half.
 
Slowly but surely, the Orediggers looked to claw their way back from the deficit, getting back within five following two more free throws from Schroeder with just over 12 minutes to play. Cal State East Bay connected on each of their next three field goals for their biggest lead of the night as 22-10 with 9:41 to play in the half.
 
Mines seemingly flipped a switch over the following minutes and came charging back, beginning with a layup and a dunk from Sullivan before Trent Dykema hit a three to cut the lead to 22-17. A block from Barr led to another triple for the Orediggers, this time from Sullivan to get within a pair and force a timeout from the Pioneers.
 
After the timeout, Barr forced another turnover and came up with the ball as Sullivan wound up with it and after drawing a foul, hit both shots from the stripe to even things up at 22. Another turnover on CSUEB's next possession ended with Adam Thistlewood hitting a wing three to give the Orediggers their first lead of the night at 25-22 at the 5:36 mark as part of a 15-0 run.
 
The Pioneers didn't surrender the lead easily, as Chris James answered with a three of his own to draw even at 25. The teams continued to exchange the lead for the remainder of the half as after a slow start to the evening, Mines hit the intermission trailing by just one at 36-35.
 
Sam Beskind opened the second half with a pair of free throws to briefly put Mines back on top before CSUEB scored the next six to regain the lead 43-37. That lead continued to hold as the half progressed, with the Orediggers closing to within three at the 11:46 mark on a Sullivan layup before the Pioneers pushed the lead up to nine at 57-48 with just over nine minutes to play.
 
Once again, the Orediggers set to work chipping away at the deficit, as back-to-back layups from Barr in the paint closed the gap to 57-53 with 7:42 to go. The momentum kept rolling for Mines and after a Beskind layup made it a two-point game, Sullivan knotted things at 57 with a 2-2 trip to the charity stripe with just under six to play before hitting back-to-back threes sandwiched around a layup by Lewis Grady to put Mines back ahead 63-59.
 
Over the final 3:40, the pace of play slowed dramatically as the fouls began to pile up for the Pioneers as the Orediggers started heading to the line. Dykema and Barr gave Mines of their biggest leads of the night at 67-60 with 2:25 to play as they each went 2-2 at the stripe over the previous minutes. CSUEB tried to use fouls to stay within reach in the closing moments, but the Orediggers kept converting from the free throw line to thwart the strategy, as Beskind and Dykema were a perfect 8-8 in the final minute to close out the 77-71 win.
 
NOTABLES
-Sullivan led all scorers with 27 points on 9-14 shooting, including 4-7 from three
-Beskind finished with 12 points and a team-best seven rebounds while going a perfect 4-4 from the stripe
-Dykema closed the night with 11 points and went 8-8 from the free throw line for his first double-figure game since February 4 against MSU Denver
-Barr added eight points and played a major role on defense, securing five rebounds while also recording two steals and a block
-Eight different players scored in the game for Mines
-Mines finished with a 35-30 advantage on the glass and went 28-29 from the free throw line while sending CSUEB to the line just six times
-The 28 made free throws are the most in a game for the Orediggers since February 14, 2020 when they went 30-36 on the road against New Mexico Highlands

LOOKING AHEAD
The Orediggers play their second game of the Otter Invitational Saturday afternoon against the hosts this weekend, Cal State Monterey Bay at 5 p.m. PT.
 
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.