GOLDEN, Colo. – Taking the court at Lockridge Arena for just the sixth time in the 2023-24 season, the #16/24 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team lined up against crosstown rival Regis Friday night for the second meeting of the season between the two clubs. Despite falling behind early, the Orediggers (15-3, 9-1) kept their composure and overcame the deficit, dialing up a quartet of highlight reel worthy dunks over the course of the night and absolutely dominating the inside the paint leaving the Rangers (8-8, 5-5) without an answer as the winning ways continued with  a 79-61 result.
 
Regis' Eddy Egun started the night off scoring the first four points to put the visitors ahead early as neither side looked particularly crisp for most of the opening seven-plus minutes. The Rangers brought added defensive pressure which caught the Orediggers off guard early, but around the 12-minutes mark Adam Krasovec checked in and took over, going on a 6-1 run by himself with three-straight makes before Sam Beskind tied things up with a fastbreak layup at 10:33 to make it 12 all.
 
Mines kept feeding the hot hand of Krasovec as he scored again on each of the next two possessions before Markus Pastorcic-Straun hit a jumper about a minute later as Regis finally broke up the 14-1 run that spanned close to six minutes of game time as Orediggers held an 18-14 lead. The score remained close for the next several possessions as the Rangers came within one following a Jalen Brown three-ball at 6:25 to make it 21-20 and again at 4:43 following two free throws from Ty Cox, but the Orediggers kept their composure and opened up their lead, starting with a two-handed slam by Pastorcic-Straun after breaking full-court pressure to make it 28-25.
 
That keyed off a quick 7-0 burst that included a trey by Majok Deng and a jumper from Alex Romack as the lead move to eight with under three to play. Tarig Eisa's three in the final minute saw the lead shrink to five, but a mid-range fall way jumper by Deng moved it back to 37-30 going to the break as Vojin Mastilovic's half-court heave clanged off the back iron at the buzzer.
 
Coming out to start the second half, Cade Mankle answered a Cox free throw by converting a three-point play that included an impressive up-and-under layup to make it a nine-point lead. After another 1-2 trip to the line from Regis and a layup by Chase Mayo Harmon, Beskind took the inbounds pass and charged up the court through the Rangers press, taking it strong to the rack and throwing it down for a thunderous one-handed dunk to again bring the crowd to their feet. The next trip down the floor it was Deng turn, catching a pass in the next corner from Beskind and charging down the endline towards the hoop before absolutely posterizing Olafur Styrmisson with a one-handed slam of his own to just about blow the lid off Lockridge Arena and make it 44-34 with 17:39 to play.
 
Mayo Harmon and Eisa scored the next five for Regis to halve the lead, but it didn't stay that way long as Romack and Pastorcic-Straun quickly ran the advantage back to 10. The lead hit double-digits for good when Krasovec laid one up and in at 13:31 to make it 54-44. Another layup on the next possession by the big man and a three-ball from Riley Schroeder made it a 15-point game just over minute later. The Rangers tried to rally, scoring the next four to close within 11, but a 9-0 Mines run highlighted by Romack and capped by a straightaway bank job from at least 25 feet away from Beskind to beat the shot clock made it a 20-point contest at 68-48 with 6:33 left.
 
The lead swelled to as much as 22 in the closing minutes with Beskind being one of the responsible parties as part of quick 6-0 run over 73 seconds inside the final three to make it 74-52 before both sides emptied their benches to play out the closing moments. Aaron Ostfun and CJ Reed closed out the scoring in the contest for the visitors, but those two-baskets did little to change the outcome as Mines picked up their 11th win in their last 11 tries by a final of 79-61.
 
NOTABLES
-Deng scored a game-high 19 points on 7-18 shooting that also included a one-handed poster dunk and tied his season high mark of eight rebounds
-Krasovec came off the bench to also score 19 on 8-11 shooting and record his second straight double-double with 10 rebounds with a block and a steal
-Romack cranked out his second double-double in the last two games with 14 points and 11rebounds while going a perfect 7-7 from the field with two steals and a block
-Pastorcic-Straun recorded his fourth double-digit outing of the season and first since December 2, ending the night with 11 points on 5-7 shooting including a two-handed transition slam of his own
-Beskind continued his strong play of late, ending the night with nine points that included a coast-to-coast right-handed jam to go with five rebounds, two assists and a steal
-Mines shot 50% from the floor in each half tonight, going 16-32 in the first half and 18-36 in the second half
-The Orediggers finished the night +10 in rebounds at 44-34 and recorded 17 assists on 34 made field goals
-On the night, Mines scored 56 of their 79 points in the paint and scored 13 points off turnovers while getting 27 bench points and 17 second-chance points
-With the win, the all-time series between Mines and Regis is now tied at 70-70 with the Orediggers now on a three-game winning streak and winners of seven of the last 10 meetings
-Mines' current 11-game winning streak is now just two shy of tying the longest mark in recent history, set back in the 2020-21 season during which the Orediggers started 13-0
-Head coach Pryor Orser now has 436 career wins and is now tied with legendary Fort Lewis and Western Colorado coach Bob Hofman with 309 wins in RMAC action, while continuing to move closer to the latter's all-time wins record of 443 as a coach in the RMAC
 
UP NEXT
Mines will welcome UCCS to Lockridge Arena Saturday night for the second meeting of the season between the two teams, but first matchup that counts toward the RMAC standings.

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.