#16/24 Mines (16-3, 10-1) vs. MSU Denver (11-5, 5-5)– Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.– Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#16/24 Mines (16-3, 10-1) vs. Western Colorado (6-10, 3-7) – Friday, 7:30 p.m.– Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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BUSY STRETCH
Following two games at home over the weekend, the #16/24 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team jumps right back into the fray this week as a busy stretch continues starting Tuesday night as Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play continues with the second of two meetings this season with MSU Denver and Western Colorado as both teams make the return trip in the season series to Lockridge Arena.
 
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 437-221 overall and a mark of 310-151 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, and is now the all-time leader in conference wins in league history and is closing in on the all-time record of 443 total wins while coaching in the RMAC, set by 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
After re-entering the Top 25 in the NABC Coaches Poll last week, Mines was on the move again this week as they rose to #16 in the country this week. For the second time in as many weeks, a new name stands atop the rankings as Minnesota State (16-0) earned all 16 first-place votes, rising from second last week. West Texas A&M (14-1) rose two spots to take over the number two position while Saint Martin's (14-1) rose from fifth to third and Dallas Baptist (13-1) climbed from sixth to fifth with last week's number one MSU Moorhead (15-1) rounding out the top five following their first loss of the season. Fort Lewis (13-2) dropped from ninth to 12th this week following an upset loss to UCCS Friday night and escaping disaster with a one-point win in the final moments Saturday night against Regis. They were replaced in the Top 10 by current RMAC leader Colorado Mesa (13-2).
 
The latest D2CSC Media Poll also featured an appearance by the Orediggers this week at #24 and saw a bit of a shake up with Minnesota State also standing at #1 followed by St. Martin's West Texas A&M, MSU Moorhead and North Georgia. Colorado Mesa slotted in at #14 this week with Fort Lewis at #23.
 
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 10 RECAP
The Orediggers kept their winning streak going at home last weekend on the first leg of a four-game stretch at Lockridge Arena, completing the season sweep of both Regis and UCCS by scores of 79-61 and 71-59. Friday night against the Rangers, Mines saw four players end the night in double-digits led by the double-double duo of Adam Krasovec and Alex Romack who scored10 points with 10 rebounds and 14 points with 11 boards respectively. Majok Deng also went for 19 in the win with seven rebounds while Markus Pastorcic-Straun turned in one of his best nights of the season with 11 points on 5-7 shooting. Sam Beskind also stuffed the stats sheet with nine points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Saturday in round two against the Mountain Lions, Krasovec once again led the way with 17 point and six rebounds to lead three in double figures and was joined again by Pastorcic-Straun with 12 and Regan Koch with 10 points and six boards as the bench carried the day with 41 points scored. Beskind also had another strong day, scoring eight points with seven rebounds and seven assists in the winning effort that saw Pryor Orser make more history, becoming the RMAC's new all-time leading in conference wins with 310, surpassing the legendary Bob Hofman who coached at Fort Lewis and Western Colorado in his long and distinguished tenure.
 
UNRIVALED EXCELLENCE
Currently in his 23rd season leading the Orediggers, head coach Pryor Orser has seen a thing or two and is subsequently no stranger to milestone moments and record-setting success. On Saturday night against UCCS, the legendary coach added another to his list of accomplishments, becoming the winningest coach in terms of conference wins in the history of the RMAC with 310, surpassing the mark set by former Fort Lewis and Western Colorado great Bob Hofman. With seemingly no plans to hang it up anytime soon and enjoying another successful season this year, Orser has the potential to set a record that could stand for just as long, if not longer, than the previous mark as another point on an already remarkable resume in a coaching career matched by only a few.
 
URALKODÓ ELŐADÁSOK (DOMINATING PERFORMANCES)
Junior center Adam Krasovec has been on an unreal run of dominance the last two and a half weeks. In six games since the calendar turned over, the big Hungarian has scored 12 or more points in five of those contests and turned in back-to-back double-doubles against New Mexico Highlands on January 13 with 15 points and 12 rebounds and Regis on January 19 with 19 points and 10 rebounds. During this five-game stretch of absolute dominance, Krasovec has averaged 15.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game with 10 assists, three blocks and two steals while shooting 32-51 (.627) from the field and 7-18 (.389) from long range. Mines will look to the big man to keep putting up numbers like those off the bench as they look to continue this run of success.
 
THEY CALL THAT A WINNING STREAK
After being dealt a tough 86-79 loss by preseason RMAC favorite and then #18 Colorado Mesa to start the month of December, the Orediggers have done nothing but find ways to win. Currently on a 12-game winning streak, Mines has averaged 79.8 PPG and won by an average of 14.0 points during that span. They've proven they can win close games, picking up a 66-65 win at South Dakota Mines on December 8 and more recently an 85-79 win over CSU Pueblo last Friday and proven they can win by 20 or more as they did against Westminster on December 2 and Northern New Mexico on December 31. They've established the first double-digit winning streak since the 2020-21 season and now trail the mark set that season by just one game when they opened the year 13-0. While the remaining schedule certainly isn't easy by any stretch, Mines will have a chance this week and possibly beyond to keep the train rolling.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS
Several Orediggers find themselves at or near the top of the RMAC in several statistical categories. Freshman Alex Romack leads the conference in total rebounds with 149 while his average of 7.8 per game ranks fourth. Majok Deng's 14.8 PPG finds him among the top 15 in the league, while his 44 made three-pointers are good for fifth with his .436 three-point percentage tops in the RMAC. Sam Beskind leads the conference with 89 assists and is averaging close to five dimes per game while his assist-turnover ratio stands at 2.1 to lead the RMAC, making him one of two players in the league with an ATO above 2.0. Another strong weekend defensively by Riley Schroeder remains atop the blocked shots list with 22, while Romack's 16 have him inside the top 10 in seventh. In addition to leading the conference in blocks (71) and rebounds (743) as a team, the Orediggers are also second in assists at 311.
 
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 just released the first episode of season three this week 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.
 
THE 200 CLUB
Some folks can go an entire career and not hit any major statistical milestones. Second-year graduate transfer point guard Sam Beskind needed only 47 games to reach one. The last time Mines was home against Colorado Christian, Beskind recorded his 200th career assist between his time at Mines and Stanford. The Tucson native has done most of that work during his time with the Orediggers, recording 209 assists since his arrival last season and ranking at or near the top of the RMAC as a result. Depending on what he does the rest of the season, Beskind could pencil his name into the all-time assist list at Mines, eyeing Russ Pulling (1985-89) in 12th place with 248. He needs 39 to get there over the final month-plus of the season which includes 11 more games, and he would need to average 3.5 assists per game to get there. Considering he's putting up close to five per night to this point the season, he's definitely got a chance to get there.
 
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. With 11 games to go the season, Mines leads the RMAC in scoring defense at 66.8 PPG and is one of two teams in the conference holding opponents under 70 per night along with Fort Lewis at 69.8. The Orediggers are also limiting teams to a .407 shooting percentage which ranks in the second in the RMAC. When it comes to rebounding, Mines leads the RMAC with 743 for an average of 39.1 RPG and have held opposing clubs to just 582 on the season, an average of 30.6 per game. Additionally, Mines leads the RMAC in blocked shots with 71, averaging 3.74 per game and has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.36 which is tied with Chadron State for the top mark in the league.
 
STANDINGS RESET
Colorado Mesa remains the lone unbeaten team in league play at 11-0 with Fort Lewis and Mines remaining tied for second at 10-1. Together, those three schools are the only teams in the RMAC with double-digit league wins. Looking behind them, Chadron State sits fourth at 6-5 with MSU Denver and Black Hills State tied for fifth at 5-5. The standings get even tighter behind them as CSU Pueblo, Regis and South Dakota Mines are all 5-6 and tied for seventh while UCCS sits at 5-7 in 10th. Colorado Christian is behind them in 11th at 4-7 followed by New Mexico Highlands at 4-8, Western Colorado at 3-7, Adams State at 3-8 and Westminster who picked up their first league win of the season over the weekend at 1-10.
This is by no means an indication of where everyone in the league might finish, but rest assured the final eight weeks of the regular season are sure to be exciting.
 
LOOKING AT THE STATS
Majok Deng remains the Mines leader in scoring at 14.8 PPG and is shooting .420/.400/.778 on the season and leading the team with 44 three-pointers this season. Cade Mankle continues to emerge as a leader on this year's team as well, scoring 11.5 PPG and shooting .494/.391/.714 while dishing out 48 assists. Riley Schroeder continues to be a steady hand night in and night out on both ends of the floor, scoring 8.8 PPG and pulling down almost four rebounds per game while shooting .456/.326/.850 with a team and RMAC-leading 22 blocks while also adding 12 steals.
 
Sam Beskind, the RMAC assist leader, enters the week with 88 to his name this season and scoring at a clip of 8.7 PPG and is second on the team in rebounding at 5.9 per night while shooting .436 from the field while alo finding himself in double figures in blocks (12) and steals (12). Freshman standout, Alex Romack, was recently highlighted by the NCAA's Wayne Cavadi as one of the top freshmen in Division II this season and for good reason; the Hoosier is scoring 8.7 PPG, pulling down 7.8 RPG, shooting .680 from the floor and has 16 blocks along with 10 steals and has five double-doubles on the season.
 
Adam Krasovec has two double-doubles in his last three games and continues to shine off the bench, scoring 8.5 PPG and shooting .533 from the floor while JUCO transfer Juani Dassie remains a lethal three-point threat off the bench, shooting .512 from downtown with 21 of his 29 made field goals this season being of the three-point variety to elevate his total field goal percentage to .558. Markus Pastorcic-Straun has been electric the last three games, scoring in double-digits twice last weekend to raise his average to 6.3 PPG and has 16 steals on the defensive end with 26 assists going the other way and is shooting .489 as a dribble-drive guard. Reagan Koch also has 12 steals on the season while Grant Pressly has got 26 dimes this year.
 
Collectively, the Orediggers are +9.1 in scoring margin at 75.9 PPG and shooting .479/.372/.682 on the season. They average 39.1 rebounds per night and are +8.5 in rebounding margin while also steadily raising their assist average to 16.4 per night while working to lower their turnover number to 12.1 per game, but still find themselves -1.8 in that category while registering 5.2 steals and nearly four blocks per contest. Comparatively, the opposition this season scores at a 66.8 clip and shoots .407/.320/.776 with 30.6 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 10.3 turnovers,6.4 steals and 2.4 blocks per game.
 
SCOUTING MSU DENVER
The Roadrunners have gone 3-2 since the calendar turned over to 2024 and snapped a two-game skid with a 75-59 win over Regis on Saturday. Since losing to the Orediggers to close out 2023, MSU Denver has picked up win over Chadron State and New Mexico Highlands while dropping decisions to CSU Pueblo and UCCS.
 
Individually, the Roadrunners have four players averaging double figures led by standout Brayden Maldonado at 17.2 PPG who is also shooting .465/.394/.880 on the year and leads the team in field goals (86), three-point field goals (37), free throws (66), assists (49), steals (31) and is second on the team in blocks and third in rebounding at 4.1 per game. Caleb McGill checks in scoring at a clip of 15.0 per night and is shooting .500/.364/.818 and is second on the team in rebounding at 5.6 per game and has 17 assists while leading the way with 13 blocks. Mario Lacy Jr. follows at 11.3 PPG and is shooting .654 from inside with a staggering 9.1 rebounds per game to go with nine steals and six blocks while KJ Garrett rounds out the group with 10.1 PPG and is shooting .552 with 48 assists and 18 steals.
 
Marzouq Ibn Abdur-Razaaq has shined off the bench this season, scoring 8.2 PPG and shooting .567 with 3.4 RPG and has nine steals to his name while Quave Probst-Allison has also provided some spark off the bench with 23 assists and 10 steals while scoring 6.8 per game while Ryan Maslow is second on the team with 18 three-pointers and has 23 assists, 11 steals and seven blocks while scoring 6.6 per contest.
 
On the season, MSU Denver is scoring 78.3 PPG and is +5.9 in scoring margin while shooting .480/.356/.724. They average 35.3 rebounds, 12.6 assists, 13.4 turnovers, 6.3 steals and 2.7 blocks per night. Opponents this year average 72.4 PPG and shoot .438/.321/.712 with 31.1 rebounds, 10.9 assists, 12.9 turnovers, 6.6 steals and 2.1 blocks per game.
 
SCOUTING WESTERN COLORADO
The Mountaineers enter this week riding high (no pun intended since Paul Wright Gym is at 7,723 feet of elevation) following a pair of home wins over CSU Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands by scores of 79-72 and 76-65 respectively to win back-to-back games for the first time in RMAC action and surpass their win total and RMAC win total from the whole of last season with still a dozen games left to play.
 
Kade Juelfs is the line Mountaineer averaging better than 10 PPG this season at 12.4 and leads the team in field goals (60), three-point field goals (29), three-point field goal percentage (.420), free throws (5), free throw percentage (.833) and is tied for the team lead with 13 steals while being one of five players with 20 or more assists. Avery Rembao is close behind him in scoring at 9.8 PPG and shooting .374/.304/.573 with 27 assists, 11 steals and five blocks. Jamel Hollins leads the way in rebounding at 5.7 per night while scoring at a clip of 7.5 per game with a team-best 28 assists along with 10 steals and three blocks while shooting .479.
 
Xavier Harris ranks first along with Juelfs in steals with 13 while also dishing out 25 assists and scoring 6.6 PPG on .462 shooting while Amar Rivers leads the way in blocks with 10 and is second on the team in total rebounds, averaging 3.4 per game and scoring 5.8 per contest. Others to watch are Jaelan McCloud (5.6 PPG) who is second on the team with 22 three-pointers, Tyler Halligan (5.0 PPG) has 13 assists and six steals, Trevin Lieck (4.2 PPG) has five blocks while shooting .417, Spencer Wright (3.7 PPG) has got 17 assists and six steals while Andrew Reichart (2.6 PPG) has six blocks and five steals.
 
As a team, WCU scores 64.1 PPG and is -7.8 in scoring margin while shooting .425/.357/.697 for the year. The average 32.1 rebounds, 11.1 assists, 15.1 turnovers, 5.1 steals and 2.3 blocks per game and also find themselves in the negative in both rebounding and turnover margin at -3.2 and -3.7. Opponents meanwhile are averaging 71.9 PPG and shooting .454/.348/.690 with 35.3 rebounds, 9.6 assists, 11.4 turnovers, 7.3 steals and 2.6 blocks per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Following their 78-67 win the first meeting of the season back on December 13, the Orediggers have now won 10 in a row against the Roadrunners and are now 48-36 in the series all-time. When playing MSU Denver at home, Mines is 27-17 all-time with their last loss coming in December of 2017. Against Western Colorado, the Orediggers have now won four straight following a 79-61 win back on December 16 in Gunnison and are now 90-99 all-time in the series. When playing in Golden, Mines is 54-38 in the series and hasn't dropped a contest at home since December of 2007, winning the last 12 meetings since then.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Following this week's two games at home, Mines will be back on the road for a week when they head to Durango to take on Fort Lewis and Alamosa to meet with Adams State to begin the month of February.

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.