#17/22 Mines (19-4, 12-2) vs. Black Hills State (10-10, 8-6) – Friday, 7:30 p.m.– Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#17/22 Mines (18-3, 12-1) vs. South Dakota Mines (9-11, 7-7) – Saturday, 7 p.m.– Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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THE STRETCH RUN BEGINS
After seeing their 14-game winning streak come to an end last weekend, the #17/22 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team will look to establish a new streak at home this weekend in front the crowd at Lockridge Arena and build momentum heading into the final month of the regular season as they play host to Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines on Friday and Saturday nights.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Coverage of this weekend's games will be available on the RMAC Network both Friday and Saturday night and include live stats through Sidearm. Saturday's game will also be broadcast on KCDO Local3 and have live stats available at minesathletics.com.
 
ROCK THE LOCK
Friday night's game against Black Hills State will be the annual "Rock The Lock" event, featuring numerous prize drawings, giveaways, free food and t-shirts, a sign contest, facepainting and other promotions and events. The event will begin 30 minutes prior to the start of the women's game against the Yellow Jackets and continue through the conclusion of the men's game.
 
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 program history, he eclipsed the 400-win mark in November of last season and has a career record of 440-222 overall and a mark of 313-152 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, and is now the all-time leader in conference wins in league history and is closing in on 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 this week, sliding back to #17 following a loss to Fort Lewis. This week's top five remained comprised of the same five teams as last week but saw some shuffling of the order. West Texas A&M (20-1) was the unanimous number one and remains atop the poll for the third week in a row while Nova Southeastern (17-2) rose one spot to second while the Skyhawks (19-2) moved up one spot as well from fourth to third. Dallas Baptist (18-2) also moved up from fifth to fourth while Minnesota State (21-2) fell to fifth from second after losing their second game of the season. Meanwhile Colorado Mesa continued their climb in the rankings, taking over the #10 spot from the Orediggers after checking in at #13 last week. The latest D2CSC Media Poll also featured an appearance by the Orediggers this week at #22 and saw WTAMU take over the top spot, followed by NSU, MSU, Gannon (19-2) 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 12 RECAP
Mines returned to the road last weekend with a pair of games against then #4/15 Fort Lewis and Adams State. Friday night against the Skyhawks, 17 first half turnovers led to a 13-point deficit that was just too much to overcome, despite the efforts of Markus Pastorcic-Straun who scored 13 points off the bench behind 5-8 shooting while Cade Mankle added 11 points on 4-5 shooting including 3-4 from three-point land. A furious second half rally got the Orediggers within eight of FLC at one point, but the slow start was too much to overcome as they were dealt their first loss in over 60 days by a score of 73-63. Saturday night in Alamosa, Mines rebounded in about as strong a manner as one could ask for. A sizzling start on offence that saw the Orediggers go 20-29 shooting in the first 20 minutes resulted in them nearly matching their point total from the previous night in just the first half as they led 61-35 over the Grizzlies. After posting the highest-scoring half in a game since 2020, Mines kept it going in the second half, leading by as much as 46 at one point as they went on to a 117-84 win. Five players ended the night in double figures, led by Majok Deng's 23 that included a 6-10 night from the floor and 9-9 outing from the free throw line. Riley Schroeder went for 21 off the bench on 7-10 shooting and 7-7 from the line while Adam Krasovec added 15 on a 6-7 night and was also perfect at the line going 3-3. Reagan Koch dropped 14 on 5-7 shooting and 2-3 from deep off the bench with Alex Romack rounding out the group with 12 points on 4-6 shooting from the floor and the stripe.
 
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. On Saturday night 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 10 games Mines has played in 2024, they've shot over 70% from the line on six occasions and over 80% three times, shooting 76.6% in those games to raise their season rate to 71.7%. Also something to note, in three of the last four 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 four of the seven games with at least 20 made free throws since the calendar turned over.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS
Several Orediggers find themselves at or near the top of the RMAC in several statistical categories. Freshman Alex Romack is second in the conference lead in total rebounds with 166 while his average of 7.2 per game ranks fifth. Majok Deng's 15.5 PPG finds him among the top 15 in the league, while his 52 made three-pointers are good for second as is his .424 three-point percentage. Sam Beskind leads the conference with 107 assists and is averaging over 4.5 dimes per game while also leading the league in assist/turnover ratio at 2.2 (107 A, 49 TO), making him the only player in the league with an ATO above 2.0. Riley Schroeder remains near the top in blocked shots list with 22, while Romack's 17 have him inside 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 seven games to go the season, Mines leads the RMAC in scoring defense at 68.0 PPG and is one of two teams in the conference holding opponents under 70 per night. The Orediggers are also limiting teams to a .421 shooting percentage which ranks in the second in the RMAC. When it comes to rebounding, Mines leads the RMAC with 880 for an average of 38.3 RPG and have held opposing clubs to just 688 on the season, an average of 29.9 per game for the fewest in the league. Additionally, Mines is second in the RMAC in blocked shots with 75, averaging 3.26 per game and has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.37 which is the top mark in the league.
 
WHERE WE STAND
The top of the RMAC saw a little separation between the top three teams, but not much as all three remain within a game of each other. Fort Lewis is at the top at 14-1 followed by Colorado Mesa at 13-1 and Mines at 13-2. Regis moved up to fourth and holds a mark of 9-6 while Chadron State shares the fifth spot with Black Hills State at 8-6. MSU Denver and South Dakota Mines are tied for seventh at 7-7 and currently hold the final two spots in the conference tournament. On the outside looking in first is UCCS at 6-9 followed by CSU Pueblo at 5-9. New Mexico Highlands is 11th at 5-10 while right behind them are Colorado Christian and Adams State at 4-10. Western Colorado and Westminster bring up the rear at 3-11 and 2-13 respectively. Just four 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 15.5 PPG and is shooting .417/.419/.797 on the season and leading the team with 52 three-pointers this season. Cade Mankle continues to emerge as a leader on this year's team as well, scoring 11.0 PPG and shooting .505/.415/.750 while dishing out 59 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 9.0 PPG, pulling down 7.2 RPG which ranks near the top of the country among freshmen this season, and is shooting .664 from the floor and has 17 blocks along with 14 steals and has five double-doubles on the season.
 
Sam Beskind, the RMAC assist leader, enters the week with 107 to his name this season and is scoring at a clip of 8.7 PPG and is second on the team in rebounding at 6.4 per night while shooting .408 from the field while also finding himself in double figures in blocks (12) and steals (18). Riley Schroeder continues to be a steady hand night in and night out on both ends of the floor, scoring 8.8 PPG and pulling down 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting .455/.302/.816 and is near the top of the RMAC with 22 blocks while also adding 22 steals.
 
Adam Krasovec had two double-doubles in January and is scoring 8.7 PPG and shooting .543 from the floor while JUCO transfer Juani Dassie remains a lethal three-point threat off the bench, shooting .521 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 .559. Markus Pastorcic-Straun has been electric the last several games, scoring in double-digits twice two weeks ago and once more last weekend and is averaging 6.1 PPG with 19 steals on the defensive end with 34 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 31 dimes this year.
 
Collectively, the Orediggers are +8.8 in scoring margin at 76.8 PPG and shooting .479/.369/.717 on the season. They average 38.3 rebounds per night and are +8.4 in rebounding margin while also averaging 16.7 per night and continue working to lower their turnover number to 12.2 per game, yet still find themselves -1.5 in that category while registering 5.4 steals and 3.3 blocks per contest. Comparatively, the opposition this season scores at a clip of 68.0 PPG and shoots .421/.318/.763 with 29.9 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 10.7 turnovers,6.4 steals and 2.4 blocks per game.
 
SCOUTING BLACK HILLS STATE
The Yellow Jackets rebounded from a 59-54 road loss to South Dakota Mines by picking up a 79-73 win over Colorado Christian in Lakewood Saturday night and currently find themselves sixth in the conference standings and will look to get back over the .500 mark overall on the season as they get ready to play their ninth road game of the season and improve a 4-4 mark from their first eight.
 
Life after Joel Scott has taken some adjusting on the part of BHSU, as Matthew Ragsdale has taken center stage in Spearfish this season scoring 21.4 PPG to lead the team, as do his 161 field goals and 52 three-pointers. He's also recorded 40 assists, 13 steals and three blocks while hauling in 3.7 rebounds per game. Caelin Hearne joins him in double-digit scoring at 11.4 PPG while shooting .464/.632/579 with 3.9 RPG and has 26 assists, 19 steals and 10 blocks to his name. Hoku Fisher isn't too far off from joining them in scoring average at 9.5 PPG while shooting .381/.329/765 and is tops on the team with 44 assists and 24 steals and 4.7 RPG.
 
John Shanklin has been a force down low, scoring 7.3 points and hauling in 4.5 rebounds per game while posting a team-best 20 blocks to rank among the RMAC leaders and is shooting .640 from the field. Ronnail Tape is also scoring at a clip of 7.3 per game, splitting time between the starting five and the bench and has 19 assists, eight blocks and seven steals. Joel Speckman (5.5 PPG) and Deegan Williams (3.6 PPG) have combined for 22 steals and eight blocks between them coming mostly off the bench this season, while Myles Johnson (3.9 PPG) has eight steals and five blocks by himself.
 
As a team, BHSU is scoring 71.3 PPG and is -1.1 in scoring margin this season while shooting .474/.349/.662. they are -1.8 in rebounding margin at 33.6 RPG and record 11.3 assists, 5.5 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while turning the ball over 14.2 times per night for a turnover margin of -3.3. Opponents meanwhile average72.4 PPG and shoot .428/.316/.696 with 35.4 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 10.9 turnovers, 6.6 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.
 
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
The Hardrockers find themselves in contention for a postseason berth, currently hanging on to the eighth spot in the standings with a month to go in the season as they look to fend off the likes of UCCS and CSU Pueblo. Last week they knocked off Black Hills State in a midweek bout to close out January 59-54 at home before coming up short in a 76-70 loss on the road to Chadron State on Saturday. They'll take on MSU Denver Friday night before coming up to Golden on Saturday and will look to improve on a 5-7 road record this season.
 
Four players are scoring in double figures per game for SDM on the season, led by Cameron Cohn at 18.7 PPG who is shooting .418/.373/.747 with 47 three-pointers, 21 assists and 18 steals on the season and the reigning RMAC Defensive Player of the Week Alejando Rama, who is averaging 18.1 PPG and averaging 4.9 RPG while shooting /.419/.40/.750 while leading the team in three-pointers (52), assists (64), steals (44) and blocks (18). Joining those two are Keagen Smith, the teams leading rebounder at 5.6 RPG, who is scoring at a clip of 12.4 PPG and shooting .522 from the floor and .404 from deep with 20 steals and Kolton Frugoli, who enters the week at 10.6 PPG and shooting just a tick under .400 with 26 assists.
 
Those four do the bulk of the scoring for the Hardrockers but are joined by Walsh Brannagh at 5.6 PPG in the starting rotation and Abel Hutchinson off the bench at 3.9 PPG. Hutchinson also has 12 assists and 11 steals on the season while Brannagh has 23 dimes, five steals and two blocks.
 
For the season, South Dakota Mines is scoring 72.3 PPG and is just -1.1 in scoring margin while shooting .418/.338/.729. They average 30.8 rebounds per game, finding themselves -4.6 in rebounding margin, while dishing out 9.2 assists, collecting 7.2 steals and recording 1.5 blocks per game while turning the ball over just 10.7 times, where they find themselves +3.1 in turnover margin. Opponents average 73.4 PPG and shoot .455/.300/.760 with 35.4 rebounds, 11.6 assists, 13.8 turnovers, 6.5 steals and 3.4 blocks per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Against Black Hills State, Mines snapped a four-game losing streak in the series with an 82-72 win in Spearfish earlier this season to improve to 16-12 all-time in the series. In 12 contests played as the home team, the Orediggers are 8-4 against the Yellow Jackets, but haven't secured a win on their home court since February 21, 2020. Against South Dakota Mines, Mines is 21-9 all-time and owns a seven-game winning streak in the series, but had their hands full in Rapid City earlier this season, escaping with a 66-65 win in the closing seconds. When facing the Hardrockers at home, the Orediggers are 14-1 all-time, winning the last three meetings in Golden following their lone home loss on February 22, 2020.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
After this weekend at home, the Orediggers will be back on the road for a single game next week as they'll head to Grand Junction to take on Colorado Mesa at 7:30 p.m.

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.