DENVER, Colo. – The #6/10 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team opened up their final four-game road trip of the season Friday night, making the short trip down I-70 to Denver to take on Regis in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play and extending their current winning streak to six games by way of a 93-61 win.
 
The Orediggers (15-1, 9-1) shot better than 51% from the floor in both halves and saw scoring up and down the lineup as 11 different players found the net, with five finishing in double figures led by Adam Thistlewood for the second-straight game with 17, and put up one of their best defensive efforts of the season, holding the Rangers (6-9, 3-6) to below 40% shooting in the game and finishing +24 in rebounding in the 32-point win.
 
Kai Barr kicked off the scoring with a layup in the paint 67 seconds in before Regis took their first, and only, lead of the night on their next possession on a three from CJ Reed. Adam Thistlewood's tip-in layup two possessions later put Mines ahead 4-3. Though the Rangers did manage to tie things up on their second three-pointer of the night, a quick 6-0 run from Brendan Sullivan, Sam Beskind and Thistlewood quickly made it 12-6 with 13:55 to play in the half.
 
Regis was able to hang with the Orediggers and stay within six to eight points for a nearly four minute stretch until a three by Sullivan made it a 10-point lead for the first time at 26-16 with 6:51 left. A layup and a trey from Thistlewood sandwiched around a Ranger layup made it a 13-point game as Mines continued to control the flow of the action.
 
While the lead did fluctuate between single and double-digits over a back-and-forth sequence in the final 4:52 of the half, the graduate transfers Beskind and Thistlewood put it back north of a 10-point lead for good in the final 1:15 as the half ended with Mines on top 45-31.
 
As play resumed in the second half, Regis looked to feed off the energy of their home crowd, opening the half on a 7-3 run to close back within 10 at 48-38 at the 16:15 mark, but Mines was able to take the shot in stride and stop the momentum to push the lead back up to 14 after a layup by Cade Mankle.
 
It was just an 11-point game with a little over 13 minutes left in regulation when Mines blew things wide open and all but put the game away with a 17-0 run that spanned the next three minutes and made it a 28-point game at 73-45, kicked off by a Sullivan layup from Riley Schroeder that included buckets from Boone, Adam Krasovec and Schroeder as despite calling several timeouts, the Rangers had no answer for the Orediggers.
 
The lead hit 30 for the first time with 5:34 left in the action on a second-chance layup from Schroeder off a pass from Beskind and went as high as 33 on a Trent Dykema jumper that made it 86-53. Taylor Spurlock converted a traditional three-point play in the closing minutes to put Mines over 90 for the fourth time this season before a pair of Dykema free throws closed out the 93-61 win.
 
NOTABLES
-For the second time in the last three games, five Orediggers finished in double digits led by Thistlewood's 17 along with six rebounds
-Sullivan went for 13 on 6-10 shooting and added seven boards and three dimes, while Boone came off the bench to score 12 on 5-10 shooting with four rebounds as he surpassed 1,000 career points on his first three-pointer of the night
-Beskind finished with 10 points along with four assists and three rebounds while Schroeder continued his strong play off the bench, adding 10 of his own on 5-6 shooting with two boards, two assists and a steal
-Mines shot 52.2% from the field in the game, marking the 11th time this season they've shot better then 50% from the floor
-The Orediggers pounded the glass in the game, recording 45 rebounds in a game for the third time this season with a season-high 16 coming off the offensive glass, as seven different players collected at least one offensive board

LOOKING AHEAD
Mines continues their four-game road trip Saturday when they head south on I-25 to Colorado Springs to matchup with UCCS at 7 p.m.
 
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.