GOLDEN, Colo. – Playing their third game in the last five days, the #14/22 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team was back in action at Lockridge Arena Tuesday night for a midweek matchup with MSU Denver in the second of two meetings between the teams this season. The quick turnaround from two games over the weekend saw the Orediggers (17-3, 11-1) trail for most of the night, but when it mattered the most they were able to answer the bell and rallied from an early deficit and outlasted the Roadrunners (11-6, 5-6) in a back-and-forth affair that saw 10 ties and 12 lead changes to run their winning streak to 13 games with a thrilling 67-65 win.
 
Cade Mankle scored the first four of the night for Mines, but it was the visitors who ended up with the early lead despite a slow start from both teams as a jumper from Mario Lacy Jr. and an alley-oop attempt that turned into an accidental three-pointer by Marzouq Ibn Abdur-Razzaq made it 9-4 almost six minutes into the action. The Orediggers held tough and kept the score close as Markus Pastorcic-Straun converted a traditional three-point play to make it 11-8 before Riley Schroeder answered a layup on the other with a three-ball from the freshman to make it a one-score game at 13-11 with 11:47 in the half.
 
MSUD managed to rebuild their lead back to six over the following minutes as a dreadful start to the night shooting for Mines was counteracted by production from the free throw line. Majok Deng scored all nine points for the Orediggers from 8:32 all the way to 4:46, going 6-6 from the stripe before burying a corner three from Mankle to give the home team their first lead of the night at 21-20. The lead was short-lived however as Luke Jones flipped the score right back with two free throws as the Roadrunners slowly built their lead back over the final three minutes before the break, taking a 34-29 lead into the intermission.
 
Deng opened the second half with a bang for Mines, drilling a three-pointer from Sam Beskind but two possessions later KJ Garrett answered with a trey of his own before Brayden Maldonado hit one from deep to make it 40-32 with 16:39 remaining. Alex Romack did his part to keep the action close, scoring a pair of buckets and putting in work on the offensive and defensive glass to trim the deficit to 42-38 before Adam Krasovec found his stroke from long range to make it a one-point game at 42-41. Pastorcic-Straun retook the lead on the next possession at the line after the junior center came through with a block on the other end as the action turned into a pitched battle.
 
The lead changed hands five times over the next four minutes as a three from Garrett made it 49-47 with just over eight minutes remaining as the teams kept trading blow. Two straight makes from Mankle inside and two free throws from Romack take the lead back on the quick 6-0 burst at 55-51, but MSU Denver answered with a rally of their own, evening the score back up at 57, 58 and 60 before retaking the lead 62-60 on a jumper from Maldonado with 2:32 to play.
 
A 1-2 trip to the line from Ibn Abdur-Razaaq made it a three-point lead with 1:45 on the clock, but on the next possession Beskind hit the biggest shot of the night, burying a wing three to tie the ballgame with 91 seconds to play. After a turnover and a foul by the visitors, Deng went to the free throw line and regained the lead with a 1-2 trip before the defense got a stop on the other end and saw Beskind convert a pair at the line after he was fouled to make it 66-63. Maldonado drew a foul with 18 seconds left that saw him convert twice at the line to make it a one-point game before another foul on Deng with six seconds left saw him post another 1-2 tip and make it 67-65. A last-ditch effort by the Roadrunners saw Maldonado airball a three as Ryan Maslow grabbed the rebound, but his potential game-tying up-and-under layup rattled off the rim as the Orediggers completed the comeback to secure their 13th consecutive win.
 
NOTABLES
-Deng led the Orediggers with 18 points on the night that included an 8-10 evening from the free throw line
-Romack finished the night with 10 points on 3-5 from the floor and 4-6 from the line with five boards, two steals and a block
-Krasovec saw his streak of double-digit scoring games come to an end at five, closing the evening with nine points while adding five rebounds and two blocks
-Beskind navigated playing the final minutes of the night with four fouls to haul down 12 rebounds, tying his career high, and finishing with eight points that included a 5-5 night at the line and clutch three in the final 91 seconds while dishing out four assists
-Mankle also ended the night with eight points on 4-9 shooting with two rebounds
-Free throw shooting was the story of the night for Mines, who as a team went 23-28 from the stripe, setting a new single-game high for the season at the line while only allowing the Roadrunners 12 attempts from the line where they converted just seven
-The Orediggers finished the night +8 in rebounds at 38-30
-Mines' current 13-game winning streak is now tied for the longest mark in recent history, which came in the 2020-21 season during which the Orediggers started 13-0
-Head coach Pryor Orser now has 438 career wins and has now passed legendary Fort Lewis and Western Colorado coach Bob Hofman with 311 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
The Orediggers wrap up their four-game home stand Friday night at 7:30 p.m. with their second game of the season against Western Colorado.

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.