#21/20 Mines (20-5, 14-3) at #9/14 Colorado Mesa (19-3, 15-1) – Friday, 7:30 p.m.– Grand Junction, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

---

 
TOP 25 CLASH
Just one game awaits the #21/20 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball this week, but it could not be a more meaningful or impactful one as they'll head to the Western Slope and Brownson Arena Friday night for the second of two meetings this season with #9/14 Colorado Mesa in a battle of two of the top three teams in the RMAC this season.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Coverage of Friday's game will be available on the RMAC Network and include live stats through StatBroadcast.
 
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 Mines history, he eclipsed the 400-win mark in November of last season and has a career record of 441-223 overall and a mark of 314-153 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, and is now the all-time leader in conference wins in league history and is tied for the all-time record of 441 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 441 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
Mines remained inside the Top 25 again this week, sliding back to #21 following a loss to Black Hills State. This week's top five saw no change to the order as West Texas A&M (222-1) was the unanimous number one and remained atop the poll for the fourth week in a row while Nova Southeastern (19-2), Fort Lewis (20-2), Dallas Baptist (20-2) and Minnestoa State (23-2) make up the rest of the top five while Colorado Mesa (19-3) rose to ninth. The latest D2CSC Media Poll also featured an appearance by the Orediggers this week at #20 and saw WTAMU remain in the top spot, followed by MSU, NSU, Gannon (21-2) and DBU.
 
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 13 RECAP
The Orediggers posted another 1-1 weekend, this time in front of the home crowd at Lockridge Arena. Friday night on the annual Rock The Lock game, Mines had their heart ripped out at the buzzer on a game-winning three-pointer from Matthew Ragsdale from Black Hills State in an 86-83 result. Sam Beskind posted his third double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds on 8-12 shooting while Majok Deng also added 19 of his own with Alex Romack going for 18 on 6-7 shooting and 6-8 at the free throw line. Saturday night against South Dakota Mines, the Orediggers rebounded and led from wire-to-wire in a 75-61 win. Markus Pastorcic-Straun had a career night, scoring 17 points on 3-5 shooting and an 11-15 night at the stripe with three steals, two assists and two blocks as one of four players in double figures. Deng and Riley Schroeder also had 17 each with six boards between them while Romack added 12 points on 6-7 from the floor and eight rebounds.
 
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. 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, 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.
 
FINDING THEIR GROOVE
Free throw shooting is something that championship caliber teams pride themselves on being good at. It helps put away close games and puts the pressure on the opposition defensively not to foul, lest they giveaway one, two or even three points from the stripe. Early in the season, the Orediggers showed some uncharacteristic struggles at the line, shooting over 70% in a game just six times in their first 12 games and entered the new year shooting 67.3%. Since then, it has been a different story; in the 12 games Mines has played in 2024, they've shot over 70% from the line on seven occasions and over 80% three times, shooting 80.9% in those games to raise their season rate to 72%. Also something to note, in three of the last six games, the Orediggers have set season-highs in made free throws (23 vs. MSU Denver, 24 vs. Western Colorado, 31 vs. Adams State) and have recorded five of the nine games with at least 20 made free throws since the calendar turned over.
 
MILESTONE WATCH
As we get later in the season, it's worth noting some recent milestones that various Orediggers have hit over the course of the year. Sam Beskind has passed the 200 assist, 300 rebound and 500 point marks in his career and is on the verge of penciling his name into the Mines record books in terms of career assists as he trails Russ Pulling by just 15 for 12th all-time. Cade Mankle went over 100 career assists while Regan Koch cleared 250 points two weeks ago on the road against Fort Lewis and Adams State. Majok Deng is closing in on 400 points for the season with 392 and is 41 points away from 500 in his career and needs 15 more rebounds for 150. Adam Krasovec is eight rebounds shy of 300 in his career and needs another 50 points for 600 in his career while finding himself 12 blocks shy of 50. Riley Schroeder went over the 600 point mark in his career over the weekend and stands at 606 and counting and is also on the cusp of 300 rebounds and 50 blocks as well with 295 and 45.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS
Several Orediggers find themselves at or near the top of the RMAC in several statistical categories. Freshman Alex Romack is back on top in the conference in total rebounds with 178 while his average of 7.1 per game ranks fifth. Majok Deng's 15.7 PPG finds him tied for 10th in the league, while his 56 made three-pointers are tied for third along with his .403 three-point percentage. Sam Beskind leads the conference with 113 assists and is averaging 4.5 dimes per game while he and Cade Mankle are 1-2 in the league in assist/turnover ratio with the former in second at 2.1 (113 A, 53 TO), and the latter the best in the conference at 2.5 (68 A, 27 TO) making them the only players in the league with an ATO above 2.0. Riley Schroeder remains near the top in blocked shots list with 23, while Romack's 19 have him in the top 15.
 
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 five games to go the season, Mines leads the RMAC in scoring defense at 68.4 PPG and is the only team in the conference holding opponents under 70 per night. The Orediggers are also limiting teams to a .424 shooting percentage which ranks in the third in the RMAC. When it comes to rebounding, Mines leads the RMAC with 955 for an average of 38.2 RPG and have held opposing clubs to just 743 on the season, an average of 29.7 per game for the fewest in the league. Additionally, Mines is second in the RMAC in blocked shots with 81, averaging 3.24 per game, assists with 412 for an average of 16.5 and has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.36 which is the top mark in the league.
 
WHERE WE STAND
16-1 Fort Lewis remains atop the standings but not by much as Colorado Mesa is right behind them at 15-1. Mines is solidly in third at 14-3 with MSU Denver and Black Hills State tied for fourth at 9-7 while Regis is right in the mix with them as well in sixth at 9-8. Chadron State is 8-8 in seventh with South Dakota Mines still hanging on in eighth at 7-9 as UCCS is just a half game behind at 7-10. Adams State might have something to say down the stretch as they look to sneak into the RMAC tournament currently in 10th at 6-11 while CSU Pueblo's tailspin continues as they've now lost six in a row to drop to 5-11 in a four-way tie for 11th with Colorado Christian, New Mexico Highlands and Western Colorado while Westminster brings up the rear at 3-14. Just three weeks remain in the regular season as the race for the RMAC Championship and a spot in the postseason shift into full gear.
 
LOOKING AT THE STATS
Majok Deng remains the Mines leader in scoring at 15.7 PPG and is shooting .412/.403/.797 on the season and leading the team with 56 three-pointers. Cade Mankle continues to emerge as a leader on this year's team as well, scoring 10.6 PPG and shooting .500/.407/.714 while dishing out 68 assists. 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 9.5 PPG, pulling down 7.1 RPG which ranks near the top of the country among freshmen this season, and is shooting .683 from the floor and has 19 blocks along with 15 steals to go with five double-doubles on the season.
 
Sam Beskind, the RMAC assist leader, enters the week with 113 to his name this season and is scoring at a clip of 8.8 PPG and is second on the team in rebounding at 6.8 per night while shooting .419 from the field while also finding himself in double figures in blocks (13) and steals (121). Riley Schroeder continues to be a steady hand night in and night out on both ends of the floor, scoring 9.1 PPG and pulling down 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting .469/.298/.853 and is near the top of the RMAC with 23 blocks while also adding 13 steals.
 
Adam Krasovec had two double-doubles in January and is scoring 8.1 PPG and shooting .526 from the floor while JUCO transfer Juani Dassie remains a lethal three-point threat off the bench, shooting .510 from downtown with 25 of his 33 made field goals this season being of the three-point variety to elevate his total field goal percentage to .550. Markus Pastorcic-Straun has been electric the last month, scoring in double-digits four times in the last eight games and is averaging 6.6 PPG with a team-high 22 steals on the defensive end with 36 assists going the other way while shooting .505 as a dribble-drive guard. Reagan Koch also has 16 steals on the season while Grant Pressly has got 33 dimes this year.
 
Collectively, the Orediggers are +8.6 in scoring margin at 77.0 PPG and shooting .481/.363/.720 on the season. They average 38.2 rebounds per night and are +8.5 in rebounding margin while also averaging 16.5 assists per night and continue working to lower their turnover number to 12.1 per game, yet still find themselves -1.4 in that category while registering 5.3 steals and 3.2 blocks per contest. Comparatively, the opposition this season scores at a clip of 68.4 PPG and shoots .424/.323/.759 with 29.7 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 10.7 turnovers, 6.3 steals and 2.5 blocks per game.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO MESA
Following an 87-79 loss to the #8 Fort Lewis, on January 26, the Mavericks have rattled off four in a row including three wins on the road as they welcome Mines and MSU Denver to Brownson Arena this weekend, a place where they are 9-1 this season.
 
Three starters average better than 13 points per night for CMU, led by Trevor Baskin at 15.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game with 80 assists, 20 steals and 17 blocks while shooting .547/.315/.607 and ranking among the leaders in the RMAC in each category listed. Mac Riniker follows at 14.2 PPG and is shooting .638/.431/.702 on the season with 5.2 RPG while passing out 53 assists and leading the way defensively with 45 steals and 22 blocked shots. Owen Koonce rounds out the trio at 13.1 PPG with 42 assists and 24 steals and is shooting .533/.357/.898, missing just five times from the free throw line all season. Isaac Jessup has been one of the top three-point shooters in the RMAC this season, connecting 53 times from deep to shoot. 368 and averages 9.5 PPG with 50 assists and 25 steals.
 
Aidan Kuhl has split time between the starting five and filling the role of sixth man off the bench this season, scoring 6.6 PPG and shooting .442 on the season with 33 of his 46 made field goals from beyond the arc. Christopher Speller is also one to watch despite averaging just 5.7 PPG as he has 54 assists to his credit on the year. Michael McCurry has been a spark on defense in the 16 games he has played, collecting 13 steals while scoring 5.3 per night while Elijah Knudsen (4.4 PPG, .357 3FG%) and Reece Johnson (4.2 PPG, 51 AST) have also played into the rotation for the Mavs this season.
 
For the year, CMU is the second-highest scoring team in the RMAC at 85.1 PPG and is +13.8 in scoring margin, boasting the fourth-best scoring defense in the league also. They are shooting .498/.356/.697 as a team and haul down nearly 40 rebounds per game to find themselves +8.7 in that category while also averaging 18.9 assists, 7.3 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while their only flaw is their 16.1 turnovers per game that have them -1.6 in turnover margin. Their opponents average 71.3 PPG and shoot .412/.315/.727 with 31. Rebounds, 11.6 assists, 8.5 steals, 2.4 blocks and 14.5 turnovers per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Mavericks took the first meeting of the season back on December 1 in Golden by a final of 86-79 to increase their all-time lead in the series to 55-33. Mines is 14-28 when playing CMU away from Golden but has won two of the last three meetings on the road, taking the regular season meeting last year at Brownson Arena 74-62 before knocking the Mavericks out of the RMAC tournament in the semifinals 64-53.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines will close out their 2023 road schedule next weekend when they travel to Colorado Christian February 23 and Chadron State February 24.

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.