#RV Mines (9-3, 5-1) vs. Northern New Mexico (4-17) – Sunday, 3 p.m.– Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

---

 
CLOSING OUT THE CALENDAR
After closing out the first half of the season winners of five in a row, the Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team will look to get back in the swing of things on the final day of 2023 as they'll return to action at Lockridge Arena Sunday afternoon and play host to NAIA opponent Northern New Mexico.
 
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 430-221 overall and a mark of 305-151 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, with both marks being second-most wins in conference history behind legendary Fort Lewis and Western Colorado head coach Bob Hofman, who recorded 309 conference wins and 443 overall wins during his time in the league while leading the Skyhawks and Mountaineers. 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 most recent set of rankings from the NABC in the regular season came out back on December and saw the Orediggers again earn votes in the latest poll. Colorado Mesa fell out of the top 10 from eighth all the way down to #16 while Fort Lewis rose five spots to #12. In the D2CSC Media Poll, the Mavericks rose to #11 the most recent edition while the Skyhawks remained at #24.
 
Looking at 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 6 RECAP
Mines ran their winning streak to five games heading into the holiday break and capping off a perfect four-game road trip with 78-67 and 79-61 wins over MSU Denver and Western Colorado. Majok Deng led four players in double-digits on December 13 against the Roadrunners, scoring 23 points on 7-15 shooting and went 3-6 from deep and 6-6 from the line. Cade Mankle poured in 13 of his on 6-11 shooting with six dimes while Riley Schroeder added 11 off the bench, going 4-6 on the night and 3-5 from three-point land. Adam Krasovec turned in one of his best nights of the season, drawing the start and scoring 10 points on 3-6 shooting including 2-4 from long range with six rebounds. Alex Romack turned in another defensive gem, hauling in seven boards with two blocks and two steals while scoring six points on 3-4 shooting. The following Saturday in Gunnison, 10 different players scored for the Orediggers in their win over the Mountaineers. Mankle was the high man with 15 points and just missed a double-double with eight rebounds while Schroeder returned to the lineup and went for 12 points with four boards and two blocks. The trio of Deng, Juani Dassie and Reagan Koch all finished with nine points, with Koch going 3-3 from downtown and Dassie going 2-2 and also converting a 3-3 trip to the stripe after getting fouled on a three attempt. Romack added another seven boards and scored seven while freshman running mate Markus Pastorcic-Straun also added seven off the bench to go with four assists and three rebounds.
 
A BUSY, BUSY MAN
Graduate student Sam Beskind is an ambitious man and a bright one at that. After all, how many people can boast having two degrees from Stanford (B.S. & M.S. in Management Science & Engineering) already to their name while working on a second Master's degree while at Mines (Humanitarian Engineering/Advanced Energy Systems). The Tucson native is also doing all that in the classroom while also running the Orediggers offense from his point guard spot and is currently averaging 9.7 points per game and scored in double-digits in four of six contests this season while also averaging 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. And as if he weren't busy enough, he hosts his own podcast called "Built for Earth", which is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Started in January 2023, the series is already 23 episodes deep and features interviews with industry leaders in the renewable energy space and discuss wide-ranging solutions to help preserve the planet and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If you need something new to listen to and maybe learn a thing or tune, be sure to tune in. We're sure Sam won't mind some new listeners when he checks his analytics.
 
BOARD MAN GAINS RECOGNITION
Alex Romack took home RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors following his two impressive showings going into the break. The freshman averaged seven rebounds per game along with two steals and two blocks while scoring 6.5 PPG. Currently, Romack is averaging 8.3 rebounds per game and is tied for the RMAC lead in total rebounds with 99 and is second in the conference with 30 offensive boards while his average of 8.3 is good for fifth. The Westfield, Indiana product also has three double-doubles on the season and has pulled down 10 or more rebounds in a game three times.
 
SLINGIN' SAMMY BESKIND
Sam Beskind has picked up this season right where he left off last year when it comes to dishing out assists. The RMAC runner up in that category behind former BHSU point guard Adam Moussa, the Stanford transfer is second the league with 51 assists and is averaging 4.3 per night, dishing out 19 on the opening weekend of RMAC play in early December with nine against Colorado Mesa and 10 against Westminster, setting a career high on back-to-back nights. Also one to fill up the rest of the stat sheet, Beskind is also scoring 8.6 PPG with six steals and six blocks while shooting .468 from the field.
 
LOCKDOWN DEFENSE
As is no surprise when it comes to Pryor Orser coached teams, defense plays a big part in the success of the team and how the year will go. 12 games into the new campaign, Mines leads the RMAC in scoring defense at 66.4 PPG and is just one of two teams in the league holding opponents under 70 per night with Fort Lewis. The Orediggers are also limiting teams to a .416 shooting percentage and a .314 three-point percentage, both of which rank in the top five in the RMAC. When it comes to rebounding, Mines leads the RMAC with 445 for an average of 37.1 RPG and have held opposing clubs to just 366 on the season, an average of 30.5 per game. Additionally, Mines also ranks third in the conference with 39 blocks, averaging 3.25 per game and has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.11, trailing only Chadron State and Colorado Mesa.
 
Through 10 games, Mines is second the RMAC with 33 blocks for an average of 3.3 per game and are led by senior Riley Schroeder with 10. Alex Romack has eight while Sam Beskind has five with another seven players recording at least one rejection this season.
 
THE COMFORTS OF HOME
After playing at home just three times in their first 12 games of the season, Mines will return to action at Lockridge Arena Sunday and play five of their eight games in January in their own gym, including four in a row from January 19-26. With a mark of 2-1 at home this season, the Orediggers will look to maintain their homecourt advantage, having gone 55-13 (.809) at The Lock over the past five seasons.
 
LOOKING AT THE STATS
Majok Deng leads the Orediggers as they return to action, scoring 15.0 PPG and shooting .434/.413/.792 on the season and leading the team with 26 treys while Cade Mankle joins him as the lone other player scoring in double-figures at 13.4 PPG with a line of .544/.433/.643 with 30 assists and five steals. Riley Schroeder isn't far off, averaging 9.8 PPG and shooting .451 from the floor and .406 from deep with 12 blocks, tied for fifth in the RMAC, along with a team-high eight steals. Sam Beskind is next at 8.6 PPG and is shooting .468 and is second in the RMAC with 51 assists while also pulling down 63 rebounds, good for 5.3 per night. Freshman Alex Romack's 99 rebounds lead the team and are tied for the top spot in the league as he also averages 7.2 PPG and has 10 blocks and seven steals.
 
Markus Pastorcic-Straun is averaging 6.1 PPG off the bench and shooting .463 from the field with 16 assists and 12 steals while Juani Dassie is shooting .500 from the floor and .448 from deep as one of three players currently sitting with 13 made three-pointers and averaging 5.6 PPG. Adam Krasovec checks in at 5.1 PPG and is shooting .429 with 11 assists, while Grant Pressly has 16 assists and seven steals off the bench.
 
For the season, Mines is averaging 72.1 PPG and shooting .473/.346/.680. They average 37.1 RPG and are +6.6 in rebounding margin while dishing out 14.4 assists per game. Despite making improvements recently, they still average 13.0 turnovers per game and are -2.7 but do have an assist to turnover ratio of 1.1 while collecting 5.6 steals and 3.3 blocks per night. Opponents meanwhile are averaging 66.4 PPG and shooting .416/.314/.788 with 30.5 rebounds,10.1 assists, 10.3 turnovers, 6.4 steals and 2.0 blocks per contest.
 
SCOUTING NORTHERN NEW MEXICO
Northern New Mexico takes on the University of the Southwest Friday afternoon before jumping on a flight to head back to Colorado to take on Mines Sunday and Colorado Christian on Monday. Stats for the Eagles this season are hard to come by as they have played a wide range of opponents from the Division I and Division II ranks, including RMAC members New Mexico Highlands, Western Colorado, UCCS and Fort Lewis, and of course several schools from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), of which they are a member. When it comes to the raw numbers, there isn't really much to share about NNMC. Two of their four wins came against Haskell Indian Nations College (78-73, 64-53) with their other two triumphs this season coming against Oklahoma City (72-66) and Navajo Technical University (91-50). Against the RMAC, they are 0-5 this season, losing twice to NMHU (89-60, 75-62), UCCS (69-64), FLC (75-62) and WCU (66-62). Earlier this month against Division I New Mexico State, the Eagles went toe-to-toe with the Aggies, leading on and off over the course of the night before falling 76-71 in an exhibition contest. In their nine games against NAIA opponents, they are shooting .432 from the floor, 33.7 from three and .694 from the free throw line. They've averaged around 68.7 points, 34.2 rebounds, 11 assists, 18 turnovers, 10.2 steals and 3.2 blocks per game.
 
One thing that does stand out about the Eagles is their size; of the 19 players listed on their roster, 16 of them stand six foot-plus with six players checking in at 6'6" or taller, headlined by Mabeny Naam at 7'0" and Nico Majuec at 7'2". There's also a strong international presence on the NNMC roster, with players hailing from South Sudan, Cameroon, Ghana, Australia and Mexico while also claiming players from across the United States, including California, New York, New Mexico and Texas.
 
Drawing some insight from their game against the Mountaineers on December 19, Eloy Medina led the way with 17 points on 7-13 shooting and was joined in double-digits by Nigel Quaynor, who went for 15 on 6-11 shooting with nine rebounds, and Malek Malual who added 11 points and seven rebounds. Emmanuel Taban had nine points, four rebounds and three assists while the big man Majuec had just one point and two rebounds and fouled out after 28 minutes. Reyes Herrera and Leo Gerardo played 20 and 12 minutes off the bench respectively, combining for five points, five rebounds and two steals. NNMC shot .406 from the floor in the game and .250 from deep and .727 from the line.
 
The next night, NNMC was in Denver to take on the Pioneers and saw Quaynor lead the way with a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double while Taban added eight with three steals. Gerardo added eight of his own off the bench while Malual had nine rebounds and five points with Majuec going for six with four rebounds. Shooting-wise, the Eagles went 21-79 (.266) from the floor 4-16 (.250) from three and 11-16 (.688) from the stripe.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Sunday will be the second-ever meeting between Mines and Northern New Mexico. The previous meeting came back in November of 2011 and resulted in a 96-59 Oredigger win in Golden.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Orediggers will close out non-conference play Thursday January 4 at Regis in the first of two meetings with the Rangers this season before jumping back into Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play Saturday January 6 against Colorado Christian at 3 p.m. at Lockridge Arena.

Fans can keep up with Mines men's basketball on X and Instagram at @minesmbb. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, X and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.