LAKELAND, Fla. – Looking to rebound after an opening day setback on day one of the 2023 Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, the #18 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team was back in action at the Jenkins Fieldhouse on the campus of Florida Southern College Sunday, taking on their second Top 25 opponent of the weekend in #25 Mercyhurst. The Orediggers (1-1) looked to be in control early on, but a massive second half surge by the Lakers (0-2) made things close late in the second half, but Mines managed to fend off the late rally to win 65-62.
 
Much like Saturday, Mines got out to an early lead behind a hot start from Majok Deng, who hit a corner three to start the action before turning in a 2-2 trip to the charity stripe a few possessions later to make it 5-0. Mercyhurst then scored two of the next three buckets to get within a pair a 7-5 following a Max Jusianiec three, but after the under-16 media timeout, Mines answered back with another trey from Deng to make it 10-5 with 15:31 to play.
 
Two free throws from the Pepperdine transfer pushed the lead to seven, but the Lakers stormed back to within one at 12-11 on a layup from Jeff Plauntis at 12:18, but Sam Beskind and Reagan Koch scored the next four for Mines to stretch the lead back out. Mercyhurst tried to hang around, but the Orediggers continued to push the pace and after going to the free throw line just four times Saturday, they made it a point to get to the stripe Sunday. Cade Mankle and Beskind helped push the lead to double-figures from the line, making it a 30-19 game with 4:11 left in the half.
 
Riley Schroeder emerged late in the half, connecting on back-to-back possessions with a mid-range jumper and a fall away floater from the block to make it a 13-point lead at 34-21. The Lakers added two baskets of their own in the final two minutes, but each one saw an answer on the other end by Deng, as he connected from downtown after the first make before closing the half with a driving layup to make it 39-25 heading to the break.
 
The second half saw a reversal of roles as it was Mercyhurst who came out strong to resume play. Two Sean Fullerton free throws at the 17-minute mark cut the Mines lead to single-digits and while Deng did his best to keep the Lakers at arm's length, the rest of his compatriots struggled to get going again after break, allowing the Lakers to slowly inch closer.
 
An 11-0 run that started at the 13:51 mark culminated in Mercyhurst taking their first lead of the day at 10:10 on a jumper by Planutis to make it 47-46 as it was game on for the final 10 minutes. Deng answered right back with a trey from Beskind before two Mankle free throws pushed the lead back to four.
 
The score remained close as the game approached the five-minute mark with the Mines big men getting in on the action, as Schroeder and Alex Romack each had critical buckets down the stretch. Beskind scored six points in a 90-second stretch with under three to play to make it 64-57. Despite the Lakers hitting a pair of late shots including a three-pointer with 23 seconds remaining, the Orediggers' defense had one final stand in them as Schroeder blocked an attempt at a game-tying three from Sean Lang with five seconds left as despite being outscored 37-26 over the final 20 minutes, Mines picked up the 65-62 win.
 
NOTABLES
-Deng shattered his previous career high scoring mark, dropping 18 in the first half with a 5-5 start from the floor, including 4-4 from three-point land and finished with 31 points on 9-11 shooting, including 6-8 from three and 7-8 from the line in 37 minutes
-Beskind posted his first double-figure outing of the season, going for 11 on 4-8 shooting with six rebounds and five assists
-Schroeder went for eight on 4-7 from the field with three rebounds, two blocks and two steals
-Romack missed his first career game with double-digit rebounds by one as he finished with nine along with seven points
-The Orediggers shots 55% from the field in the game and after going to the free throw line just four times Saturday, attempted 21 from the stripe, converting at a 66.7% clip
-Mines limited Mercyhurst to just 22.7% from long range (5-22) and held them 44.6% (25-56) from the floor in the game
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers will be on the road again next weekend as they head to Texas for regional crossover action in San Antonio, taking on Lubbock Christian on Friday at 2 p.m. CT before taking on St. Mary's (TX) on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT.
 
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.