#16/21 Mines (21-7, 15-5) vs Adams State (8-18, 6-14) – Friday, 7:30 p.m.– Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#16/21 Mines (21-7, 15-5) vs. #2/6 Fort Lewis (24-2, 19-1) – Saturday, 7 p.m.– Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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FINISHING STRONG
The regular season comes to a close at Lockridge Arena this weekend for the #16/21 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team as they'll open the month of March against the same two teams they began the month of February with as Friday night Adams State comes to town before Saturday night sees a postseason preview against #2/6 Fort Lewis.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live coverage of this weekend's game will feature live stats and video on the RMAC Network, links to which are 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 Mines history, he eclipsed the 400-win mark in November of last season and has a career record of 442-225 overall and a mark of 315-155 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, and is now holds the records for most conference wins and most wins all-time by a head coach in the RMAC, surpassing the previous record holder Bob Hofman of Fort Lewis and Western Colorado fame as he held the records for decades prior to Orser's incredible run. 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 in the Top 25 again this week with only their game against Chadron State counting towards this week's rankings, jumping up to #16 by virtue of their win over the Eagles. This week's top five saw a new number one team as preseason favorite Nova Southeastern (22-2) regained their place atop the country as previous #1 West Texas A&M (25-2) suffered their second loss of the season and dropped to fourth. Fort Lewis (24-2) rose from second to third and Minnesota State (26-2) also climbed from fourth to third while Gannon (25-2) remained in fifth. Colorado Mesa (23-3) also moved up in the coaches poll, gaining two spots to seventh. The latest D2CSC Media Poll also featured an appearance by the Orediggers this week at #21 and also saw NSU take over the top spot followed by MSU, WTAMU, GU and Northwest Missouri State (22-4) with FLC in sixth and CMU in ninth.
 
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 15 RECAP
Last weekend saw a little bit of everything including the good, the bad and the bizarre for the Orediggers/ Friday night's contest against Colorado Christian in Lakewood ended up getting postponed to Monday as a result of a CCU player shattering a backboard on a dunk in pregame warmups. That meant Saturday was the first game of the weekend for Mines and it ended up being a historic one, as head coach Pryor Orser finally broke the RMAC record for most wins as a head coach with 442 while Majok Deng posted a 42-point performance to lead the way in a 74-56 win. Monday, with a new backboard installed, the Orediggers and Cougars finally got down to business in what ended up being one of the best games in the RMAC this season. Deng led five Orediggers in double-digits along with Riley Schroeder, Sam Beskind, Adam Krasovec and Juani Dassie, but it wasn't enough to overcome a career night on the other side by one Schafer Reichart as a last-second shot to force overtime rimmed out and saw CCU win 83-81, snapping a 17-game winning streak by Mines in the series in doing so.
 
GENTLEMEN, THANK YOU
While this year's men's basketball roster features five players listed as either graduate students or seniors, just two of them will be calling it a career following the 2023-24 season as Sam Beskind and Taylor Spurlock will be recognized pregame Friday night during Senior Day festivities for their careers and accomplishments during their time as Orediggers.
 
MAJOK MAGIC
As his first season at Mines comes to a close, Majok Deng can look back and say he was able to do some pretty special things and make some history in the process. With his 42-point performance Saturday night at Chadron State, he became the first Oredigger since Stephen Bahl in the 2004-05 season to score 40 or more points in a single game in program history and becoming just the sixth man ever to accomplish the feat. He also became the first player since the great Gokul Natesan in 2015-16 to record two games of 30 or more points in the same season. His effort in the win netted him his second RMAC Offensive Player of the Week honor this season and he is surely headed for All-RMAC honors as the postseason draws near and has a shot to make an already incredible season even more special as the lights get brighter starting next week.
 
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. On Saturday, 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.
 
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 over the weekend penned his name into 12th all-time in Mines history in assists with 249 and with at least three games left in his career, could work his way up further. Cade Mankle went over 100 career assists while Regan Koch cleared 250 points at the start of February on the road against Fort Lewis and Adams State. Majok Deng is now over 400 points for the season with 481 and is 19 points away from 500 on the season and is now at 548 in his career and needs just five more rebounds for 150. Adam Krasovec is now on the north side of 300 rebounds in his career with 302 and needs another 32 points for 600 in his career while finding himself 10 blocks shy of 50. Riley Schroeder went over the 600 point mark in his career a few weeks back and stands at 634 and counting and also went over the 300 rebound mark over the weekend and now has 306 and is three blocks away from 50 in his career.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS
As the season winds down, several Orediggers remain at or near the top of the RMAC in several statistical categories. Freshman Alex Romack is third in the conference in total rebounds with 196 while his average of 7.0 per game ranks tied for sxith. Majok Deng's 17.2 PPG sees him rise to seventh, while his 69 made three-pointers are tied for second with his .403 three-point percentage also good for second. Sam Beskind leads the conference with 129 assists and is averaging 4.6 dimes per game while he remains the RMAC leader in assist/turnover ratio at 2.3 (129 A, 57 TO). Riley Schroeder remains in the top 10 in blocked shots list with 25, while Romack's 20 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 two games to go the season, Mines leads the RMAC in scoring defense at 69.5 PPG and is the only team in the conference holding opponents under 70 per night. The Orediggers are also limiting teams to a .430 shooting percentage which ranks in the third in the RMAC. When it comes to rebounding, Mines leads the RMAC with 1,053 for an average of 37.6 RPG and have held opposing clubs to just 838 on the season, the third fewest in the league for an average of 29.9 per game, which is the fewest in the league. Additionally, Mines is second in the RMAC in blocked shots with 89, averaging 3.18 per game, assists with 462 for an average of 16.5 and has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.37 which is the top mark in the league.
 
THE FINAL PUSH
The final week of the regular season is upon us as several teams have already locked up their spot in the 2024 edition of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament, but several others are still fighting for their seasons this weekend. Colorado Mesa is now a half-game up on Fort Lewis after a Tuesday night win over Westminster at 20-1 with the Skyhawks at 19-1 as those two contend for the regular season title. Mines is 15-5 and solidly in third and will stay there regardless of outcomes this weekend while MSU Denver and Black Hills State are both 12-8 and tied for fourth and are battling for the final host position for the quarterfinals starting Tuesday. Regis is currently sixth at 11-9 and is the final team on the north side of .500 in league play. South Dakota Mines continues to hang on to one of the final postseason spots in seventh at 9-11 while the eighth spot is where the drama this weekend lies. CSU Pueblo and Chadron State currently sit at 8-12 tied for the final postseason spot while UCCS, New Mexico Highlands and Western Colorado are all at 7-13 and looking to make some noise and steal the final spot depending on results this weekend and subsequent tiebreakers. Colorado Christian and Adams State aren't out yet, but will both need to sweep this weekend and get some help to have a chance at 6-14, while Westminster will be happy to put this one in the rear view with one game remaining this season as they sit at 4-17.
 
LOOKING AT THE STATS
Entering the final weekend of the regular season, Majok Deng remains the locker room leader in scoring. Raising his average to 17.2 PPG and is shooting .435/.29/.824 as the team leader in made three-pointers with 69 and made free throws with 122 while adding 21 assists. Cade Mankle is the only other Oredigger scoring better than 10 a night at 10.1 PPG and is shooting .484 from the floor with 74 assists. Alex Romack has turned it on lately and is scoring 9.1 per night while continuing to lead the team in rebounding at 7.0 RPG while shooting .660 from inside with 30 assists, 20 blocks and 16 steals.
 
Riley Schroeder is also scoring 9.1 PPG and shooting .477 on the season with 3.5 RPG and a team-high 25 blocks with Sam Beskind stuffing the stat sheet across the board at 8.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG and 4.6 APG while adding 24 steals and 13 blocks while shooting .414 from the field.
 
Adam Krasovec (7.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG), Markus Pastorcic-Straun (6.4 PPG, .496 FG%) and Juani Dassie (4.8 PPG, .526 3FG%) have been key figures on the second unit throughout the season, impacting the game in various ways on both sides of the ball and will figure to play integral roles heading down the stretch and into the postseason.
 
Collectively, the Orediggers are +7.7 in scoring margin at 77.2 PPG and shooting .480/.377/.721 on the season. They average 37.6 rebounds per night and are +7.7 in rebounding margin while also averaging 16.5 assists per night and continue working to lower their turnover number to 12.0 per game, yet still find themselves -1.4 in that category while registering 5.1 steals and 3.2 blocks per contest. Comparatively, the opposition this season scores at a clip of 69.5 PPG and shoots .430/.333/.765 with 29.9 rebounds, 10.6 assists, 10.6 turnovers, 6.2 steals and 2.5 blocks per game.
 
SCOUTING ADAMS STATE
The Grizzlies enter the week losers of their last four games to Fort Lewis, Western Colorado, South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State to close out the home portion of their schedule this season with just a 2-9 record, but will look to end the season on a high note on the road as they're 4-7 in true road games this year.
 
Veteran guard Destan Williams leads the Grizzlies in most stat categories, scoring 16.7 PPG and shooting .517/.379/.866 with 149 field goals, 39 three pointers, 96 assists and 57 steals. Austin Fadal is the second of two players scoring double-digits per night at 15.3 PPG while shooting .518 from the floor and .819 at the line with 118 free throws while pulling in 4.2 rebounds per games and adding 47 assists and 21 steals.
 
Isaiah Sampson is next up scoring 9.1 PPG and leads ASU in rebounding at 4.8 RPG and blocks with 25 while shooting .581 from inside. Kolby Walker checks in at 8.0 PPG with 34 three-pointers and is shooting .324 from deep with 19 steals while Jude Tapia is scoring 7.0 PPG and shooting .411 from the floor and has hit 33 treys at a .355 rate with 26 steals on the defensive end.
 
For the season, Adams State is scoring 80.3 PPG yet still finds themselves -5.6 in scoring margin and is shooting .480/.333/.788. They are -5.6 in rebounding margin at 30.6 RPG while averaging 13.1 assists, 8.1 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while turning the ball over 13.5 times per night. Opponents are scoring 85.9 per night and shooting .481/.379/.771 with 36.2 rebounds, 15.7 assists, 7.1 steals, 2.2 blocks and 14.1 turnovers per game.
 
SCOUTING FORT LEWIS
The Skyhawks haven't lost since a shocking upset back on January 12 down in Colorado Springs against UCCS, rattling off 12 straight wins and doing so in convincing fashion most nights although they got a bit of a scare last time out against South Dakota Mines who tried to crash the party on Senior Night, but came up short as FLC won 86-83.
 
Obi Agbim leads three Skyhawks averaging better than 10 points per night this season at 14.1 PPG with a team-best 77 assists, 130 made field goals and 39 three pointers while shooting .439/.336/.827. Malik Whitaker is next on the list at 12.1 PPG and is one of the top rebounding for FLC at 5.0 RPG and is tied for the team lead with 37 steals while shooting .517 and dishing out 41 assists. Brayden Carter is the final third of that trio at 10.2 PPG and is shooting .624 and leads the Skyhawks with 23 blocked shots and 5.5 RPG, doing all his production this season exclusively off the bench.
 
Junior Garbrah is just shy of making that trio a quartet at 9.8 PPG and is shooting .463/.438/.776 on the season with 32 assists and 21 steals. Jhei-R Jones is scoring at a clip of 8.2 per night and has 44 assists with 37 steals alongside Whitaker splitting time between the starting the rotation and the second unit, while Samer Kinsler has also been a role player, scoring 7.7 PPG with 36 three-pointers this season to go with 26 steals.
 
Collectively, FLC is scoring 86.2 PPG and is +15.2 in scoring margin while shooting .487/.383/.748. The are +4.5 in rebounding margin and average 37.3 per night along with 12.4 assists, 9.0 steals and 3.0 blocks while turning it over just 11.3 times per contest and are +5.9 in turnover margin. Opponents meanwhile score 71.0 PPG and shooting .426/.352/.743 with 32.8 rebounds, 15.5 assists, 17.2 turnovers, 5.7 steals and 2.8 blocks per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY
After a 117-84 win in Alamosa at the start of the month, Mines is now 76-90 all-time against Adams State and winners of the last 10 in the series. When playing at home they at 48-35 and haven't lost in Golden since March of 2015. Against Fort Lewis, Mines has lost the last two meetings and five of the last six and is now 38-59 all-time. When playing at home, the Orediggers are 20-23 against the Skyhawks and will look to snap a two-game home losing streak and secure their first win at Lockridge Arena over FLC since February of 2020.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Following this weekend's games, Mines will wait and see who they'll play in the opening round of the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament beginning Tuesday in the quarterfinals. The Orediggers will be one of the top four seeds and their opponents will be announced once seeding has been finalized. Be sure to check minesathletics.com for additional information as it is released.

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.