CANYON, Texas – The 2022-23 season came to a close for the #14/17 Colorado School of Mines Men's Basketball team on Saturday afternoon as the Orediggers fell to Black Hills State, 68-48, in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Adam Thistlewood was Mines' leading scorer thanks to 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. He added four rebounds as well.
Sam Beskind was big with eight points and nine rebounds while adding two assists and two steals.
Ben Boone scored nine points.
Kai Barr rounded out the Oredigger highlights, touting four blocks and eight rebounds with four points and one steal.
Mines (26-6) was the #3 seed in the bracket. Black Hills State (26-5) earned the proverbial upset as the #6 seed. The Orediggers suffered from cold shooting, converting just 21 of 58 shots from the field. They were 2-of-19 from three-point range as well. Mines did pull down 38 rebounds, but gave up 14 turnovers and only forced five Yellow Jacket turnovers. The other bright spot for the Orediggers were five total blocks compared to three blocked shots by BHSU.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the third meeting of the 2022-23 season between Mines and Black Hills State, the contest went through four ties and four lead changes. The Orediggers led early and for most of the first half thanks to Beskind's driving, reverse layup and a three-pointer off the hand of Boone. The Yellow Jackets matched Mines' five points with their own three-pointer, but Thistlewood's dunk at the 15:50 mark gave the Orediggers a lead they would not surrender for the next 13 minutes of action. Despite neither team scoring a point for more than three minutes, from 9:47 to 6:32, Black Hills State still managed an 8-1 run near the end of the half to take a 28-27 lead. Jumpers from Barr and Boone helped Mines carry a 31-29 lead into the break.
The second half was all BHSU. The Yellow Jackets started the period on an 8-0 run and did not look back. By the final buzzer, Black Hills State had shot over 45 percent for the half, including four three-pointers, while holding the Orediggers to 26-percent shooting from the floor and zero three-pointers on 10 attempts. Mines nearly recovered from the 8-0 surge by BHSU thanks to three unanswered points from Beskind and a
Brendan Sullivan jumper. However, the Orediggers would not find the lead again as the Yellow Jackets posted a 13-0 surge to take control. Mines was unable to find the basket for the last 2:22 of the game.
NOTABLES
- Mines is now 15-12 in the all-time series against Black Hills State.
- Saturday marked the final game in the collegiate careers of
Brendan Sullivan,
Ben Boone,
Trent Dykema, and
Adam Thistlewood.
- Sullivan finished his career with 1,943 points, 641 rebounds, 279 assists, 160 steals, and 105 blocks. He also made 241 three-pointers and shot over 50 percent from the floor in 142 games.
- Boone's career resume features 1,179 points including 182 three-pointers with 377 rebounds, 247 assists, 81 steals, and 32 blocks.
- In 95 games for the Orediggers, Dykema scored 359 points, grabbed 149 rebounds, dished out 66 assists, swiped 42 steals and blocked 10 shots.
- Thistlewood, who split his collegiate career between Mines and Colorado State, finished touting 1,395 points including 212 three-pointers, 541 rebounds, 157 assists, 84 steals, and 45 blocks.
- Head Coach
Pryor Orser completed his 22nd season at the helm for Mines with an overall record of 421-217.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines now enters the offseason with a variety of postseason awards to come. All awards and signing announcements for the Orediggers will be posted at www.minesathletics.com.
Fans can keep up with Mines women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram at @MinesWBB. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.
