By: Patrick Murphy
AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR
With Tuesday night's quarterfinals in the rearview, four teams will be heading to Grand Junction and Brownson Arena for the semifinals and championship of the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship. The top four seeds in this year's event all advanced as the #21/RV third-seeded Colorado School of Mines will square off with second-seeded #6/8 Fort Lewis for the second time in a week in the second game of the night Friday at 7:30 p.m. while top-seeded #5/6 Colorado Mesa will host fourth-seeded Black Hills State in the early game at 5 p.m. with the winners of each game set to meet in the title game Saturday night at 6 p.m.
LIVE COVERAGE
This weekend's championship match along with all matches in the 2024 RMAC Men's Basketball Championship will be available on the
RMAC Network at a price of $9.95 per day plus a small service fee. Additional information can be found below. Free live stats will also be available through
StatBroadcast.
FAN INFORMATION
Fans are reminded that there is no passlist for the postseason. All college students of the teams that are playing who present a valid student ID card will be admitted free of charge to all matches. Fans are encouraged to purchase advance tickets through the Hometown Fan App on their mobile device, or the
RMAC Box Office on their computer, which are subject to processing fees. Fans are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets in advance of arriving at the venue. The only tickets that may be purchased at the venue will be cash-only transactions. Adult tickets are priced at $15 dollars, while tickets for seniors and children over the age of five are priced at $10. Students with a valid ID card will be admitted at no charge.
Also, fans are reminded that the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference will be implementing a subscription model for all championship broadcasts. Fans will be able to purchase day passes for each day of the tournament priced at $9.95 per day plus a small service fee. To purchase the day pass, fans will navigate to
www.rmacnetwork.com and will be directed to select the institution that they are supporting through their viewership. Once the payment submission is complete, fans will have access to any RMAC championship contest available for that specific sport. Day passes will expire within 24 hours of the purchase.
For technical support questions, fans may submit a support ticket with
Hudl Support or email the RMAC directly (
help@rmacsports.org).
For further support, fans can visit the RMAC Network Help page.
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 445-225 overall and a mark of 317-155 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
The latest NABC Coaches Poll announced Tuesday saw Mines slide back to #21 despite a 2-1 finish to the regular season. In the top five, Nova Southeastern (24-2) remained at number one with 15 first-place votes followed by a new number two in Minnesota State (27-2) while Gannon (26-2) jumped up to third. Northwest Missouri State (24-4) earned a first-place vote and checked in this week in fourth while Colorado Mesa (25-3) rounded out the top five with Fort Lewis (25-3) backsliding from second to sixth. The latest D2CSC Media Poll somewhat mirrored those standings with NSU, MSU and GU in first, second and third while West Texas A&M (26-3) was fourth with NWMSU rounding out the top five with CMU in sixth and FLC in eighth.
There was little movement in Wednesday's rankings as West Texas A&M and Fort Lewis remain the top two teams in the South Central followed by Dallas Baptist and Colorado Mesa at #3 and #4. Following Mines in fifth are Eastern New Mexico in sixth and Lubbock Christian in seventh as there was one shakeup this week as Angelo State swapped places with MSU Denver to take the eighth and final spot in the field while the Roadrunners are currently the first team out with Cameron still in contention at #10.
QUARTERFINAL RECAP
The Orediggers opened their postseason campaign in 2024 Tuesday night at Lockridge Arena against sixth-seeded Regis. Despite some close moments in both halves that made it a one-possession game, Mines got a quintet of double-digit scoring performances to lead them to a 90-71 win and advance to the semifinals.
Alex Romack shrugged off a slow finish to the regular season by posting a double-double in his postseason debut, going for 17 points and 11 rebounds on 6-10 shooting and 5-6 at the line.
Majok Deng also went for 17 points, doing most of his work at the free throw line where he went 9-10.
Reagan Koch came off the bench for 12 points on 3-4 shooting from deep and 3-4 at the line while
Riley Schroeder added 11 points for his fourth consecutive double figure outing.
Sam Beskind was also back in double figures with 10 points as he also finished two rebounds shy of his fourth double-double of the season with eight points while adding another five assists and four steals.
LOOKING AT THE BRACKET
Unlike the women's bracket which saw an 8-1 upset with CSU Pueblo down Colorado Mesa, each of the top four seeds on the men's side emerged unscathed from Tuesday night's action. Top-seeded Colorado Mesa knocked off eighth-seeded Chadron State 84-74 while Black Hills State fended off MSU Denver 75-72 in a 4-5 matchup. Mines got the better of Regis 90-71 in a 3-6 battle while second seed Fort Lewis also had a fight on their hands against seven seed CSU Pueblo throughout much of the night but hanging on for a 102-96 win.
DISHING IT OUT
In two seasons as Mines,
Sam Beskind has long endeared himself to the Mines faithful and in doing so has penned his name into the all-time records at Mines. This season, he has logged 149 assists to tie Jeff Rhodes' 1981-82 campaign for the fourth-most dimes in a season after recorded 135 last year which now ranks seventh in Mines history. Additionally, his 269 career assists now have him 10th all-time in program history, passing Russ Pulling, Stephen Bahl and Mike Mishak and is now six shy of recent Hall of Fame inductee Brett Green for ninth all-time at 275.
HE'S *THAT* FRESHMAN
The RMAC announced its major award winners Wednesday and saw Mines forward
Alex Romack prevent a sweep by Colorado Mesa as he was voted the league's Freshman of the Year and becoming the second Oredigger in the last three seasons to earn the honor, joining teammate
Adam Krasovec.
Romack turned in a stellar debut season in Golden, appearing in all 30 games and making 29 starts in the post during the regular season and averaging 8.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per night while adding 22 blocks and 18 steals. His 203 total rebounds rank fifth in the conference while his 75 offensive boards are good for second. The Westfield, Indiana product also shot .667 from the field this season, a number unrivaled by anyone in the RMAC. Romack scored in double digits 13 times this season and recorded five double-doubles and scored a career-high 21 points on November 20 against Williams Baptist while posting a high mark of 14 rebounds against Lubbock Christian on November 10. He also earned RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors on December 18. In his postseason debut Tuesday, he recorded a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds, his sixth of the season and going 6-10 from the floor and 5-6 at the stripe.
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Three other Orediggers earned All-RMAC accolades Wednesday as well, with the guard trio of
Sam Beskind,
Majok Deng and
Cade Mankle being honored for their efforts this season with two First Team awards and Honorable Mention recognition.
Beskind made the jump from being an Honorable Mention selection last season to being a First Team All-RMAC honoree in 2023-24, closed out the regular season as the league leader in assists with 144 and assist/turnover ratio at 2.4 (144 AST, 60 TO). The second-year graduate transfer from Stanford put up some career-best numbers in his second season as an Orediggers, hauling in 187 rebounds and recording 14 blocks while connecting 77 times from the free throw line. Despite seeing his scoring average dip slightly from last season to 8.9 PPG, Beskind raised his rebounding and assist numbers to 6.2 and 4.8 per night while shooting .412 from the field and .819 at the free throw line as he started all 30 games this season. The Tuscon native also recorded the first three double-doubles of his collegiate career against Lubbock Christian, CSU Pueblo and Black Hills State while recording 10 or more assists in a game on two occasions. Beskind also earned RMAC Offensive Player of the Week honors on January 15. In Tuesday night's quarterfinal, he just missed out on his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and eight rebounds while adding five assists and four steals in what has become his usual stat line.
Deng's debut season at Mines was about as good as anyone could have dreamed of and culminates in First Team All-RMAC recognition. The graduate transfer from Pepperdine started all 30 games this season and led the team in scoring while ranking sixth in the league at 17.0 PPG, shooting .435 from the floor. His 75 three-pointers ranked second in the conference while his .429 shooting percentage from outside was tops in the league. Deng also shot .830 from the free throw line to rank seventh in the RMAC this season and also averaged 3.5 rebounds per game with 23 assists, 14 steals and three blocks. He scored in double figures in 24 games this season, scoring 20 or more eight times and becoming the first player in the last nine seasons with multiple 30-point showings and first player in 20 years to score 40 or more points in game, doing so against Chadron State on February 24. He also earned RMAC Offensive Player of the Week honors on January 29 and February 26. In his Mines postseason debut Tuesday, he also scored 17 doing most of his work at the free throw line going 9-10 while adding a pair of three-pointers.
Mankle rounds out the Mines contingent of All-RMAC selections, earning Honorable Mention accolades in his first full season as a starter. The redshirt sophomore started 27 times in 28 games and averaged 9.9 PPG while shooting .478 from the floor and recording career-highs in three-point field goals (23), free throws (34), rebounds (83) and assists (81). He averaged 2.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per contest while also adding 14 steals. 14 times Mankle scored in double figures including a career-high 28 against Black Hills State on December 9 while turning in five games with five or more assists. In Tuesday night's quarterfinal win over Regis, Mankle scored eight points on 3-7 shooting with four rebounds.
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.
LOOKING AT THE STATS
Majok Deng remains the locker room leader in scoring at 17.0 PPG and is shooting .431/.430/.834 as the team leader in made three-pointers with 77 and made free throws with 136 while adding 24 assists.
Cade Mankle is scoring 9.8 PPG and is shooting .477 from the floor with 83 assists while
Alex Romack continues to impress, scoring 9.2 per night while continuing to lead the team in rebounding at 6.9 RPG while shooting .663 from inside with 31 assists, 22 blocks and 18 steals.
Riley Schroeder raised his scoring average to 9.4 PPG and is shooting .489 on the season with 3.7 RPG and a team-high 25 blocks with
Sam Beskind stuffing the stat sheet across the board at 8.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 4.6 APG while adding a team-high 32 steals and 14 blocks while shooting .407 from the field.
Adam Krasovec (7.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG),
Markus Pastorcic-Straun (6.1 PPG, .485 FG%) and
Juani Dassie (5.4 PPG, .527 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 +8.5 in scoring margin at 77.9 PPG and shooting .480/.386/.724 on the season. They average an even 38 rebounds per night and are +8.1 in rebounding margin while also averaging 16.8 assists per night and continue working to lower their turnover number to 12.0 per game, yet still find themselves -1.2 in that category while registering 5.3 steals and 3.2 blocks per contest. Comparatively, the opposition this season scores at a clip of 69.4 PPG and shoots .430/.330/.759 with 29.9 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 10.8 turnovers, 6.2 steals and 2.6 blocks per game.
SCOUTING FORT LEWIS
Fort Lewis had their hands full Tuesday night in their tournament opener against CSU Pueblo and found themselves trailing by 12 at one point in the first half, but found a way to come out on top and advance with a 102-96 win led by 29 points from Obi Agbim along with double-digit outings from Junior Garbrah, Jhei-R Jones and Malik Whitaker.
Agbim leads four Skyhawks averaging better than 10 points per night this season at 14.7 PPG with a team-best 88 assists, 151 made field goals and 45 three pointers while shooting .435/.341/.839. Whitaker is next on the list at 12.2 PPG and is one of the top rebounders for FLC at 5.1 RPG and third on the team with 39 steals while shooting .519 and dishing out 42 assists. Brayden Carter enters the weekend 10.2 PPG while shooting .633 and leads the Skyhawks with 25 blocked shots and is tied with Whitaker at 5.1 RPG, while doing all his production this season exclusively off the bench.
Garbrah's recent performances have him back on the north side of 10.0 PPG at 10.2 as well as he is shooting .479/.451/.771 on the season with 38 assists and 24 steals. Jones is scoring at a clip of 8.1 per night and has 52 assists with 44 steals to lead the team, splitting time between the starting the rotation and the second unit, while Samier Kinsler has also been a role player, scoring 7.2 PPG with 37 three-pointers this season to go with 26 steals.
Collectively, FLC is scoring 86.2 PPG and is +13.7 in scoring margin while shooting .488/.384/.755. They are +4.4 in rebounding margin and average 37.1 per night along with 12.3 assists, 8.9 steals and 2.9 blocks while turning it over just 11.5 times per contest and are +5.2 in turnover margin. Opponents meanwhile score 72.5 PPG and shoot .433/.350/.744 with 32.7 rebounds, 15.9 assists, 16.7 turnovers, 5.6 steals and 2.7 blocks per game.
SERIES HISTORY
With the Mines win last Saturday night to close the regular season, the Orediggers improved to 39-59 in the series with Fort Lewis and snapped a two-game losing streak in the series while picking up their first win at home in the series since 2020. Friday night's game will be a matchup of the 2023 RMAC Tournament Championship, which the Skyhawks won 82-76.
LOOKING AHEAD
Should Mines pick up a win Friday night, they'll advance to the tournament title game on Saturday at 6 p.m. against the winner of the first semifinal between top-seeded Colorado Mesa and the four seed Black Hills State. With a loss, the Orediggers will await to hear their name called on Selection Sunday in the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship Selection Show, scheduled for 9 p.m. MT
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.
