#10/11 Mines (6-1, 2-0) vs. Colorado Mesa (4-5, 0-3) – Saturday, 3 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#10/11 Mines (6-1. 2-0) vs. Westminster (7-3, 1-1) – Monday, 3 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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HOME SWEET HOME
After hitting the road for the first weekend of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, the #10/11 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team will celebrate the end of the semester by returning to the court at Lockridge Arena Saturday and Monday afternoons as they play host to Colorado Mesa and Westminster in matinee action.
 
TRAFFIC WARNING – SATURDAY ONLY
Fans who plan to come to Saturday's games should be aware that there will be closures on Washington Avenue in Golden running from late morning into early afternoon. In order to avoid the closures, fans are encourage to access campus and Lockridge Arena by using 19th street and entering the area from the west.
 
GET YOUR TICKETS
Fans are encouraged to purchase digital tickets or print tickets at home ahead of the upcoming games by going to www.minesathletics.com/tickets. This will expedite the entry process to Lockridge Arena. Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for children, seniors, and military members. Mines faculty, staff, and students get in free with their Blaster Card.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both games this weekend will be streamed free of charge on the RMAC Network. Free live stats will be available for both games. Links for video and stats for both matches can be found on minesathletics.com.
 
AT THE HELM
The 2024-24 season will be the 24th for the Orediggers under the guidance of head coach Pryor Orser. The winningest coach in the history of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Orser's record stands at 451-228 overall and a mark of 319-155 in league play. Under Orser, Mines has won five RMAC regular-season championships and two RMAC Tournament titles and qualified for 13 NCAA Tournaments including two Elite Eight trips. 
 
IN THE POLLS
The Orediggers were tabbed the preseason favorites to win the RMAC this season, earning 11 of 14 first place ballots and compiling 191 points. MSU Denver was picked to finish second followed by Regis, Black Hills State and Colorado Mesa.
 
In the national polls this week, Mines cracked the Top 10 at #10 in the NABC Division II Coaches Poll and moved up to #11 in the D2 CSC Media Poll. Nova Southeastern, West Texas A&M, Washburn and West Liberty held fast in the top four spots of the Coaches Poll while Ferris State ascended to fifth after DBU stumbled and slipped all the way to 15th. After receiving votes the last several editions of the poll, MSU Denver debuted in the Top 25 this week at #23 while CSU Pueblo earned votes.
 
Meanwhile in the media poll, the same five teams occupied the top five this week but were ordered a little differently. The Sharks and Buffs remained 1-2 while the Ichabods and Hilltoppers traded places in third in fourth with the Bulldogs remaining in fifth. The Roadrunners also debuted at 24th alongside Florida Southern this week.

WEEK 4 RECAP
Mines started RMAC play the right way on the road last weekend by collecting 84-79 and 101-85 wins over Adams State and New Mexico Highlands.
 
Against the Grizzlies, Alex Romack went off for 23 and nearly had a double-double with eight boards as he shot 9-11 from the floor while Majok Deng went for 19 with four rebounds and was key down the stretch at the free throw line to help secure the win in a back-and-forth game in the second half. Grant Pressly led the efforts on the glass with nine rebounds and two steals while scoring five points.
 
Saturday against the Cowboys, Deng led five in double figures with 25 points on 8-14 shooting and also went 8-10 at the line. Markus Pastorcic-Straun and Juani Dassie each went for 15 off the bench with the former going 3-3 from the floor and 9-12 at the line with four rebounds, three assists and two steals while the latter went 5-9 from the floor and 3-7 from three with five boards. Romack followed up with 14 and four on 6-8 shooting while Riley Schroeder added 11 on a perfect 5-5 day with five dimes, four assists and two steals. Caleb Clark went for a career-high eight in the win with four assists while Jonathan Moore was also perfect from the floor, going 4-4 and finishing with nine points.
 
RMAC ROLL CALL
One week of league play is in the books as four teams went 2-0 to sit atop the standings. Mines, CSU Pueblo, Regis and MSU Denver all swept last weekend while seven teams went 1-1. Fifth through 11th in the standings is comprised of Westminster, UCCS, Colorado Christian, Black Hills State, Chadron State, Western Colorado and South Dakota Mines. Fort Lewis picked up a midweek league win over New Mexico Highlands to improve to 1-2 and is followed by Colorado Mesa and Adams State at 0-2 with the Cowboys bringing up the rear at 0-3 in 15th.
 
FOR ALL TIME
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. Back on January 20 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 and counting. Just weeks later in February, Orser broke another conference record, this time for the most overall wins by a head coach in league history with a 74-56 win over Chadron State, giving him 442 for his career to again pass the great Bob Hofman who made a mark on RMAC history at Fort Lewis and Western Colorado over his 24 seasons between the two institutions. 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.
 
SPREADING IT OUT
All 14 players that have seen time this season have scored for the Orediggers as part of a new-look rotation that through the first seven games has seen plenty of straight line changes with five players subbing on and off at most opportunities. Of those 14 players 10 are scoring at least 4.3 PPG with an 11th, Grant Pressly, is just shy of 4.0 PPG but has 21 assists and eight steals. Delving deeper, nine of the 10 players previously mentioned are scoring better than 5.0 PPG. As the season goes on, it will be interesting to see if Mines is able to sustain their balanced attack that has been on display in the early going or if more individuals will start to separate themselves from the crowd.
 
600 CLUB
After dropping 567 points in his debut season at Mines, Majok Deng now stands at 686 career points as an Oredigger with an average of 17.0 PPG this season. Taking into account his time at Pepperdine, the Tucson native is now on the north side of 750 points in his collegiate career and is poised to hit 1,000 by season's end. Adam Krasovec is also now on the northside of 600 as he enters RMAC play with 615 points now as he looks to finish his career out strong as well.
 
MILESTONE WATCH     
Several other Orediggers on the cusp of hitting a few milestones across several statistical categories. Juani Dassie blew past the 200-point mark in his career during week two in Texas and is now up to 253 while Reagan Koch is cleared the 150-rebound mark two weeks back while recording his 50th steal opening weekend. Adam Krasovec is up to 331 rebounds and 43 blocks in his four seasons at Mines, while Cade Mankle is up to 157 rebounds, 157 assists and 455 points in his three seasons. Riley Schroeder returned to play week two and surpassed the 700-point mark in his career as he's now up to 746, while also boasting 342 rebounds and 51 steals. Fellow big man Alex Romack also rolled through the 300-point mark on opening weekend and is now up to 262 rebounds in his career while being 19 blocks from 50 in his young career.
 
GETTING THAT SILVER
Grant Pressly and Reagan Koch each completed their undergraduate degrees in May and collected their silver-plated diplomas as they walked across the stage and are back for more as both have begun graduate programs. Pressly, a fifth-year man out of Plano, Texas earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Engineering and Management Science while Koch needed just three years to graduate with a degree in in Mechanical Engineering. Both men are currently pursuing graduate degrees in Engineering and Technology Management.
 
CHECKING THE STATS
Majok Deng headlines four Orediggers scoring in double figures heading into this week while a fifth isn't far behind. Deng checks in shooting .453/.344/.882 with 17.0 PPG and 4.4 RPG with seven steals and two blocks. Juani Dassie has picked up right where he left off last season off the bench, scoring 12.4 PPG and shooting .577 from the floor and .525 from deep with eight assists, eight steals and three blocks.
 
Alex Romack had a big weekend on the road last week and is now averaging 11.4 PPG and leads the team in rebounding at 5.4 per night with four blocks and five steals while shooting .674. Riley Schroeder rounds out the group at 10.8 PPG and is shooting .575 from the field and .500 from three with 14 assists. Markus Pastorcic-Straun almost makes that group five as he is scoring at a clip of 9.6 PPG and shooting .449 from the floor and is much-improved at the free throw line as well while leading the team with 19 assists and 11 steals.
 
Reagan Koch has headlined the second unit this season at 6.3 PPG on .361 shooting with 2.7 RPG and eight steals to go with 16 dimes while Cade Mankle is scoring 5.7 per night with a team-high 26 assists along with 11 steals while shooting .425. Jonathan Moore is thriving inside as he leads the team with 10 blocks and has 11 assists while scoring 5.0 PPG and shooting .636/.429/.800. Caleb Clark (4.3 PPG, 12 AST, 4 STL) has thrived this season in the first extended playing time of his career while Grant Pressly (3.4 PPG, 21 AST, 8 STL) has logged quality minutes while being a force on both ends of the floor.
 
Through seven games the Orediggers are scoring 88.3 PPG and are +15.6 in scoring margin. They are shooting .503/.383/.763 while opponents have shot .433/.372/.697. They average 36.1 rebounds per night and are +3.4 in rebounding margin while dishing out 19.1 assists per game. Learning from the early woes of last season, ball security has been a priority as Mines is turning it over just 13.0 times per game and is +2.7 in turnover margin. Defensively they average better than 10 steals and 3.5 blocks per contest.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO MESA
With the departure of Mike DeGeorge in the offseason, the Mavericks' roster underwent quite the overhaul for this season with just four returners from last season back. RMAC Player of the Year Trevor Baskin headlined the departure of 14 players as he headed to Colorado. Meanwhile, eight freshmen and three transfers comprise the balance of newcomers in Grand Junction under first-year head coach Mike Dunlap.
 
CMU is still in search of their first RMAC win of the season after going 0-2 on opening weekend to drop to 4-4 overall at the hands of UCCS and Colorado Christian in Grand Junction by scores of 63-58 and 75-65 before dropping a 73-70 decision to Regis Thursday night.
 
Ty Allred has stepped into a starting role this season and leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 14.5 PPG and 7.4 RPG with 13 assists, six steals and six blocks while shooting .442/.352/.913. Newcomer Harvey White from Australia follows at 11.3 PPG on .554 shooting with a team-best 30 assists but is also tied for the team lead with 22 turnovers. Will Mortimore, another Aussie freshman, is scoring 9.1 PPG and shooting .518 from the post with 6.1 RPG and has five steals while 6'11" Division I transfer Yaak Yaak (also from Australia) has come off the bench to average 9.3 PPG with 5.0 RPG and shot .455 with a team-best eight blocks.
 
Mason Honeyman and Jaylen Pittman also hail from the Land Down Under as eight players of Australian origin grace the CMU roster this season. Honeyman enter the week scoring 8.3 PPG having split time as a starter and reserve in eight games while shooting .379 with 18 assists and eight steals but also has 22 turnovers. Pittman meanwhile is scoring 4.5 PPG and shooting .615 with nine assists, two blocks and two steals. Christopher Speller (4.1 PPG, 11 AST, 5 STL) and Austin Thyne (4.4 PPG, 11 AST, 5 STL) are also two players to keep an eye on.
 
For the season, Colorado Mesa is -3.9 in scoring margin at 69.3 PPG. They are shooting .462/.337/.735 as a team while opponents are shooting .453/.367/.637. The Mavs are +3.1 in rebounding margin at 33.9 per night and also average 14.1 assists per contest. Turnovers have played a role in the .500 start to the season as CMU commits 15.4 per night and is -4.5 in turnover margin. Defensively, they average 6.5 steals and 2.6 blocks per game.
 
SCOUTING WESTMINSTER
The Griffins are off to a hot start in 2024 at 7-3 and are coming off a split to open RMAC play, dropping a 72-62 decision to CSU Pueblo before rebounding with an 81-64 win over UCCS in Salt Lake City last weekend. Four of WU's wins this season have come against non-NCAA schools, including two wins in a rare back-to-back against Park University (AZ) the weekend following Thanksgiving. They'll play newly-ranked MSU Denver Saturday before heading up the road to Golden Monday.
 
It's a mix of returners and newcomers for WU with seven letter winners from last season back joined by 10 newcomers from both the prep and collegiate levels. Chase Potter, who appeared in just 11 games last season leads the team in scoring and is one of four players in double figures at 15.2 PPG while shooting .468/.385/.844 with 3.9 RPG, 13 assists and 10 steals, tied for the most on the team. JUCO transfer Simon Akena is scoring 14.3 PPG and shooting .488 from the floor with seven assists and three blocks. Donaval Avila has split time between the bench and the starting five, scoring 11.1 PPG and shooting .581/.400/.846 to go with 19 assists, 10 steals and eight blocks as he along with Potter both have made at least 33 free throws this season.
 
Another newcomer, Ryan Rubenskas, is scoring an even 10.0 PPG with 4.0 RPG on .656 shooting with 13 assists, eight blocks and six steals but is also second on the team with 20 turnovers. Parker Christensen has also split roles in the first 10 games, scoring 9.5 PPG and pulling down 3.9 RPG while dishing out a team-high 39 assists and shooting .474 from the floor and .762 at the stripe. Other to keep an eye on are Sam Martin (3.0 PPG, 25 AST, 7 STL), Tommy Ball (4.2 PPG, 17 AST, .435 3FG%) and Jack Jamele (4.7 PPG, 10 AST, 5 STL, 3 BLK).
 
For the season, WU is scoring 79.1 PPG and is +11.2 in scoring margin while shooting .507/.386/.778. Opponents are shooting .438/.316/.717. The Griffins are +7.1 in rebounding margin at 34.4 per contest and average 15.7 assists per night as well. They are -0.6 in turnover margin at 14.4 per game but do still average 6.5 steals and 3.0 blocks per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Orediggers will look to snap a two-game skid in the all-time series against the Mavericks, who lead 56-33. Last season CMU swept the season series in Golden and in Grand Junction by scores of 86-79 and 98-81. All-time at home, Mines is 17-24 against Colorado Mesa with their last home win coming in January 2022 by a tally of 68-58.
 
When it comes to the Griffins, Mines will look to even the all-time series as they trail 28-29 and find themselves winners of four of the last five games. In the lone meeting last season, the Orediggers posted a 75-54 win in Lockridge Arena, improving to 17-9 as the home team in the series.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines will be right back to work as they'll head to the other Las Vegas (the one in Nevada) next week for the Holiday Hoops Classic hosted by South Point Casino and take on West Liberty and Angelo State.

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.