LAKEWOOD, Colo. – Back at the CCU Event Center Monday for the second time in the last four days in an attempt to get a game in, the #21/22 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball and Colorado Christian finally took the court without issue in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action. The Orediggers (21-7, 15-5) ended the night with five players in double-digits and outscored the Mountain Lions (10-16, 6-14) 45-41 over the final 20 minutes, but couldn't overcome the game of a lifetime on the other side as an attempt to force overtime at the horn drew contact but no foul and rimmed away as CCU was able to scratch out an 83-81 win.
 
The Cougars scored first but Majok Deng answered right back with a three-pointer picking up Monday eight where he left off Saturday to make it 3-2 Mines. A series of missed shots allowed CCU to regain the lead 8-3 and despite some trips to the free throw line, the home team led by Schafer Reichart continued to pull away and add to their lead as it was 11-6 six minutes in.
 
Adam Krasovec did his part off the bench to keep the Orediggers in contention, single-handedly going on a 7-0 run to make it 16-13 but CCU punched right back with an 11-2 run to pushed their lead up to 12 points at 27-15 with 10:24 left. Mines did their best to try and whittle away at the deficit, but no matter what they did were unable to close to less than eight points until the final 94 second of the half. Deng hit a jumper in transition to make it 40-34 and Cade Mankle hit a floater inside with 11 seconds left to counter a jumper by Reichart and keep it a six-point deficit going into the half at 42-36.
 
Juani Dassie kicked off the second half by hitting a three from Sam Beskind to cut it to a three-point game before a jumper by Mankle made it a one-point game. Reichart scored the next nine for CCU but a three from Beskind along with a layup and three from Riley Schroeder saw Mines finally regain the lead with 14:43 left at 52-51.
 
Having finally battled back into contention, the Orediggers had a fight on their hands for the remainder of the night. CCU regained the lead on a three by Robert McWard and added a free throw by Nic Zeil before Deng tied it at 55 and Schroeder buried a three after a jumper by Reichert to make it 58-57 and regain the lead. The back-and-forth battle continued as each team continued to make shots but after a manic sequence of makes, Mines found themselves up 66-62 following treys from Schroeder and the lefty Dassie with 9:52 in regulation.
 
Mines continued to fend off the Cougars and keep the lead over the minutes that followed, as Deng and Dassie gave them their biggest lead of the night at 76-70, but slowly and almost single-handedly Reichart dragged Colorado Christian back into the thick of it with assistance from Bradley Land. The sophomore tied it at 78 with three minutes left and went 1-2 at the line moments later to retake the lead 79-78 before a jumper in the final 91 seconds made it a three-point game. Deng answered back with a dagger three with 29 seconds to equalize at 81 and after a CCU timeout, Reichart ended up getting the ball inside and scoring to retake the lead with 4.9 seconds remaining. Mines called a timeout to draw up a play, but had to go the length of the court to try and force overtime or win it outright and put the ball in the hands of Beskind, who had played sparingly down the stretch after being tagged for his fourth foul with over 13 minutes left. He took the inbounds pass from Schroeder and got to the hoop, drawing contact from Reichart but not enough to draw a whistle in the eyes of the officials as the Cougars came away with the upset 83-81.
                                       
NOTABLES
-Deng led the way with 29 points on 9-16 shooting and went 5-7 from three in 29 minutes
-Schroeder was back in double-digits with 13 points on 4-6 shooting including 3-4 from deep with three rebounds and a block
-Dassie added 12 off the bench, going a perfect 4-4 from three in the second half with two rebounds and an assist
-Krasovec added 10 off the bench on a perfect 4-4 shooting and was 2-2 from long range
-Beskind battled foul trouble in the second half to finish with 10 as well to go with six assists and four rebounds
-Mines made a season-high15 three-pointers in the game and shot 55.6% (15-27) in the second half
-It was a tale of two halves in terms of fouls called, with CCU being whistled nine times in the first half against three for Mines, while in the second half the Orediggers were popped for 10 infractions while the Cougars were whistled for only six
 
UP NEXT
Mines will close the regular season at Lockridge Arena against Adams State and #3/3 Fort Lewis next Friday and Saturday March 1 & 2. Senior Night for the Orediggers is tentatively scheduled for Friday evening against the Grizzlies.

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.