#18 Mines (2-2) at UCCS (2-1) – Saturday, 3 p.m.– Colorado Springs, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#18 Mines (2-2) vs. Williams Baptist (3-0) – Monday, 5 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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STAYING LOCAL
After beginning the season with a pair of long haul trips to Florida and Texas, the #18 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team will be playing closer to home this weekend, first heading south on Saturday afternoon to take on UCCS in non-conference action before opening their home campaign at Lockridge Arena on Monday evening against Williams Baptist.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Coverage of this weekend's games will be available on the RMAC Network and have live stats available at minesathletics.com.
 
AT THE HELM
The 2023-24 season will be the 23rd for the Orediggers under the guidance of head coach Pryor Orser. Already the winningest coach in program history, he eclipsed the 400-win mark in November of last season and has a career record of 423-220 overall and a mark of 300-150 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference 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 12 NCAA Tournaments including two Elite Eight trips. 
 
THE CAPTAINS
Second-year graduate transfer Sam Beskind and redshirt sophomore guard Cade Mankle will serve as captains for the Orediggers in 2023-24. Beskind burst onto the RMAC scene last year, averaging 9.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while also shooting .481/.338/.835 on the season and ranking second in the conference in total assists with 120 and leading the league in assist to turnover ratio at 2.2. Mankle split time between the starting five and the bench rotation in his first season of action last year, averaging 4.4 points and 1.6 assists per game while shooting .397/.310/.542 for the year.
 
IN THE POLLS
The initial NABC Top 25 poll of the season was released on Tuesday October 21 and saw the Orediggers ranked at #18 to begin the new season. Northwest Missouri State headlined the first rankings of the year, earning 10 first place votes, and was joined in the top five by defending national champion Nova Southeastern in second, national runner-up West Liberty in third with Indiana (Pa.) and Indianapolis in fourth and fifth respectively. Both of Mines' opening weekend opponents, Bentley and Mercyhurst, are included in the initial rankings of the season, with the Falcons ranked #16 and the Lakers ranked #25. Three other RMAC schools also appeared in the Top 25 this week, with Colorado Mesa at #14, Fort Lewis at #15 and Black Hills State at #17.
 
Speaking of the RMAC, Mines earned a trio of first place votes and was picked to finish third in the league season behind Colorado Mesa, who earned eight first place votes, and Fort Lewis who earned four. Black Hills State and Chadron State rounded out the rest of the top five.
 
WEEK 2 RECAP
Mines went 1-1 for the second week in a row as they were in San Antonio last week for regional crossover action. Friday the Orediggers knocked off Lubbock Christian in a tightly contested 61-59 decision and were bolstered by a quartet of double-digit outings, led by Majok Deng's 17 while Sam Beskind and Riley Schroeder each went for 13, with the former also hauling in 11 boards for the first double-double of this collegiate career. Markus Pastorcic-Straun filled the role of sixth man beautifully, adding 11 off the bench. Sunday against St. Mary's was a little a tougher, as while Mines led early, the Rattlers took the lead with about 14 minutes left in the first half and never looked back. Despite making several pushes late, the Orediggers fell by a final score of 87-77. The previously mentioned foursome all turned in repeat performances, as Deng went for 17 again, Schroeder added 16 including 4-6 from three. Beskind poured in 15 with seven boards and four assists while Pastorcic-Straun added a career-high 14 on 4-7 shooting and 6-10 from the line.
 
WELL HELLO THERE
Head Coach Pryor Orser welcomed seven newcomers to Golden for the 2023-24 season in perhaps one of the deepest and most talented signing classes he's had in his 23 years at Mines. The class is comprised of two transfers in Juani Dassie from the junior college ranks and Majok Deng who brings four years of Division I experience from Pepperdine, along with five freshmen from all across the country.
 
The class includes Fort Collins native and one of the most prolific three-point shooters in Colorado state high school history in Silas McCurnin and Ontario native Markus Pastorcic-Straun who was a two-sport standout on the hardwood and on the track at Cape Fear Academy in North Carolina. Those two are joined by a trio of big men hailing from coast-to-coast and including points in between. Derek Lamb arrives from California where he averaged close to a double-double in his prep career. Jonathan Moore excelled in four sports during his time at Newsome High School in Florida, averaging better than 12 PPG during his last two seasons of basketball while also excelling in volleyball, track and field and soccer. Rounding out that group is Alex Romack out of Westfield, Indiana, who averaged a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds per game as a senior.
 
You can read more about each of the newcomers by reviewing the Signing Day recap here.
 
SIZZLING START
The start of Majok Deng's career in a Mines uniform has certainly been impressive and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Currently the Pepperdine transfer is averaging 19.0 PPG and 3.3 RPG while shooting .510 (25-49) from the field and .433 (13-30) from long range. He has gone for double-digits in every game so far, scored the first points for Mines in each contest and posted back-to-back 17-point outings on the road last weekend following a 31-point outburst the first Sunday of the season. Needless to say, Deng has been a welcome addition to the Orediggers to start the season.
 
BOARD MAN
Freshman Alex Romack has made himself known in the first four games of the season by being a major force on the glass. Entering this weekend, Romack is averaging 8.8 rebounds per game and had a massive day Friday, hauling in 14 boards in the win over Lubbock Christian. His 35 rebounds lead the team and are second in the RMAC as well while his average is good for eighth in the league. Of course one should expect nothing less from someone hailing from the heartland of hoops, the Hoosier State of Indiana.
 
LOOKING AT THE STATS
Like we mentioned above, Majok Deng and Alex Romack have been stat stuffers to open the year. Deng is one of the top scorers in the RMAC while Romack is one of the leading rebounders. Also putting up solid numbers to start the year are Sam Beskind and Riley Schroeder. Beskind has picked up right where he left of in his first season at Mines, averaging 11.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG and 3.3 APG while shooting .457 from the floor. Riley Schroeder is also off to a hot start, averaging 10.8 PPG and shooting .474 from the floor and .500 from long range and posted back-to-back double-digit scoring games in Texas over the weekend, including a 16-point showing against St. Mary's. Freshman Markus Pastorcic-Straun has also shined off the bench in the early going, averaging 9.0 PPG and 3.7 RPG and shooting .476 from the field. He also turned in consecutive double-digit outings last weekend, going for 11 in the win over Lubbock Christian while dropping 14 against St. Mary's Saturday.
 
As a team, Mines is averaging 63.5 PPG and shooting .450/.329/.588 through four games. They're hauling down 36.8 rebounds per game and dishing out 10.8 assists per night, but have been fighting the turnover bug, handing the ball over 15.3 times per game, more than double than their opponents who are doing so at a 7.3 clip. Defensively, the Orediggers also are averaging 4.5 steals and 3.5 blocks per game. Opponents this season are averaging 69.3 PPG and shooting .424/.295/.902 with 32.3 rebounds, 11.8 assists, 7.0 steals and 2.8 blocks per contest.
 
SCOUTING UCCS
The Mountain Lions moved to 2-1 on the season with a 69-64 win over a team Mines will face to close out the 2023 calendar in Northern New Mexico on Thursday night after going 1-1 on the opening weekend with a 67-65 win over Cameron before dropping a 93-75 decision to Midwestern State in regional action.
 
Xavier Martinez leads the Mountain Lions in scoring at 13.3 PPG while shooting .348 from the floor and has already gone to the free throw line 27 times this season, converting at an .815 clip while also leading the team with 14 assists and four steals. Hannes Saar enters the weekend averaging 11.3 PPG and shooting .414 from the field and has made a team-high five three-pointers, while William Becker is currently averaging a double-double with 10.3 PPG and 13.0 RPG, pulling down 39 boards in three games to lead the RMAC. Jezza McKenzie scored 12 points on opening night against Cameron but hasn't played since so we'll see if he makes an appearance against the Orediggers.
 
Collectively, UCCS is averaging 70.3 PPG and is -3.7 in scoring margin early in the season. They are shooting .408/.291/.723 on the season with 39.0 rebounds, 15.0 assists and 18.3 turnovers per game, finding themselves  -7 in turnover margin. They also average 3.7 steals and 3.7 blocks per game. Opponents are averaging 74.0 PPG and shooting .415/.224/.638 with 37.7 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 11.3 turnovers per game along with 10.0 steals and 2.3 blocks per night.
 
SCOUTING WILLIAMS BAPTIST
The Eagles hail from the ranks of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and will be playing Monday's game in Golden as the first of three exhibition games next week. WBU is in the midst of a busy stretch of their schedule, playing two games in Chicago on Friday and Saturday before heading to the Denver metro area to take on Mines and Colorado Christian Monday and Tuesday before swinging by Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday before returning home to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas.
 
So far this season, the Eagles are 3-0 ahead of their Chicago trip and have four players averaging better than 10 points per game, led by Frank Petion at 19.0 PPG who is shooting .588 from the floor and is already 16-22 from the free throw line while also averaging 7.7 RPG. Ben Keton follows at 17.3 PPG and is shooting .474/.389/.900 in the early with 4.3 RPG. TJ Clardy checks in at 12.7 PPG and is also averaging 6.0 rebounds and three assists per night as well while shooting .400 from the floor and .933 from the charity stripe. Duke Hardin rounds out the group at 11.7 PPG and is shooting .438 from long range and is tied with Keton on the season with seven three-pointers made while also providing a spark on the defensive end with 2.7 steals per game. Tevin Tate is also someone to keep an eye on, averaging 7.7 PPG and 4.7 RPG and is shooting .818 from the floor through three games.
 
WBU has averaged 84.0 PPG to date and as a team is shooting .447/.302/.792 and is pulling down 38.3 rebounds per game while dishing out 11.3 assists per night. They turn the ball over 10 times per game and average 12.7 steals and 3.7 blocks per night. Opponents are average 74.0 PPG and shooting .437 from the field and .345 from three-point land.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday will be the 51st all-time meeting between Mines and UCCS with the Orediggers leading the series 37-13 and owning a 20-6 record when playing away from Golden and are coming off an 85-66 win in RMAC play last season down in Colorado Springs. Looking at the last 10 matchups, Mines is 7-3 and 6-2 when playing on the road. Meanwhile Monday evening will mark the first time that Mines and Williams Baptist will have crossed paths.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines will have the rest of Thanksgiving week off and will resume their schedule with the start of RMAC play December 1 and 2 at Lockridge Arena against #14 Colorado Mesa and Westminster.

Fans can keep up with Mines men's basketball on Twitter and Instagram 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.