D2CCA All-Region Teams
 
DENVER, Colo. – Colorado Schools of Mines men's basketball players Brendan Sullivan and Adam Thistlewood continued to add to their awards resumes this postseason, as both were named Second Team All-Region selections Friday by the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA).
 
The Orediggers were just one of three schools with multiple All-Region honorees, as West Texas A&M and Angelo State also had two players represented among the 10 selected to the First and Second Teams.
 
Thistlewood, a Golden native and graduate transfer from Colorado State, is in his first season playing for his hometown team and has already assembled quite the body of work, being named to the Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List, earning RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors and being named First Team All-RMAC and the All-Tournament team after a red-hot start to the postseason. He ranks among the league leaders in scoring and rebounding at 16.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest and has a pair of double-doubles, the first two of his collegiate career, that came on back-to-back nights in mid-January at UCCS and at MSU Denver. He has also shot .515 from the field and .728 from the line with 69 assists, 22 steals and 13 blocks and earlier this season, surpassed 1,000 points in his career between Fort Collins and Golden.
 
Sullivan meanwhile earns the second All-Region honors of his career from the D2CCA, being named an All-District Selection in 2021 before ultimately being named Third Team All-America. The redshirt senior from Highlands Ranch already has a lengthy list of honors this season, including RMAC Academic Player of the Year, First Academic All-RMAC, CSC Academic All-District, First Team All-RMAC and was most recently named to the RMAC All-Tournament Team. This season, Sullivan has started all 31 games and has started each of his last 113 dating back to the 2019- season and is averaging 13.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game and recorded his first double-double of the season the RMAC semifinals against Colorado Mesa. He's also shot .519 from the field and .430 from three this season and has 61 assists, 32 steals and 19 blocs heading into the NCAA Tournament. In his career, he now stands at 1,937 career points, good for sixth all-time and his 690 field goals are now fourth all-time as he is on the verge of becoming the fourth player in program history to hit the 700 mark. Sullivan's 216 three-pointers are also sixth in program history, while his 160 steals rank fourth and his 279 assists are eighth.
 
 
The Orediggers will begin their run in the 2023 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship Saturday as the #3 seed at 12 p.m. CT in Canyon, Texas when they take on #6 seed Black Hills State. Mines advanced to the RMAC Tournament title game before falling to Fort Lewis last Saturday 82-76. This year marks the 12 NCAA Appearance for the Orediggers and ninth in the last 10 seasons, including when they hosted the West Region as the #1 seed in 2021.
 
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.