RAPID CITY, S.D. – Looking to remain perfect in true road games this season, the #15/13 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team lined up opposite South Dakota Mines in a battle of the brainiacs Saturday afternoon at the King Center. Adam Krasovec headlined three players finished in double figures for the Orediggers (12-2, 6-0) as they won their ninth straight game over the Hardrockers (1-13, 1-5) as they completed the weekend sweep with a 72-57 victory.
 
Three-pointers by Majok Deng and Riley Schroeder bracketed a pair of free throws from Mac Terry as Mines scored first and led in the early moments. Following a jumper from Abel Hutchinson, Cade Mankle converted a traditional three-point play before a Caleb Clark layup made it 11-4 at 15:05.
 
A 7-0 burst from the Hardrockers saw them draw even at 11 following a jumper from Guido Wanschelbaum before Schroeder retook the lead with an inside jumper on second-chance bucket. Terry gave SDM their first lead at 15-13 following a three-pointer at 11:41 before the Orediggers regained the edge on a trey from Krasovec at 10:10 that made it 20-19.
 
The lead changed hands four more times before the break with Mines taking it for good at 6:54 on a Schroeder jumper from Markus Pastorcic-Straun that made it 28-27. The Hardrockers did their best to keep pace as the half wound down, but gradually the Orediggers pulled away behind the efforts of Pastorcic-Straun as he scored seven of the last 15 points of the half while Schroeder scored six on a pair of three-pointers. A late bucket from Tre Dowdell with two seconds left cut the Mines lead to 43-36 heading into the intermission.
 
Mankle led the charge coming out of the break as he scored the first five points on a three-pointer and a layup as part of a 9-2 run that saw the lead run to 11 at 52-41 with 14:37 to play. SDM battled back to within five with a 6-0 run of their own capped by a Luke Stoddard jumper at 12:29 that made it 52-47, but just as quickly Mines strung together a 10-0 run behind seven from Krasovec along a trey from Reagan Koch that made it 62-49 with just over nine minutes left.
 
The gap never dropped below 12 for the rest of the afternoon and peaked at 18 following a pair of free throws by Schroeder that made it 70-52 inside 3:30. One last push from SDM saw them within 13 with 65 seconds on the clock but no further as Grant Pressly wrapped things up with a pair of final-minute free throws to put a bow on the 72-57 win.
 
NOTABLES
-Schroeder led the offense with a game-high 15 points on 5-9 shooting including 3-6 from three with five rebounds and three assists along with a block
-Krasovec went for a season-high 14 in the win on 6-8 shooting including 2-3 from deep with two rebounds
-Pastorcic-Straun chipped in 12 off the bench on 5-8 shooting with three assists
-Deng added nine points on three field goals including a three-pointer
-Mankle finished with eight and reached 500 points in his Mines career with a three-point play conversion in the opening minutes of the game
-Pressly and Koch each hauled in eight rebounds, with the former pulling down five offensive boards and dishing out assists
-10 different players scored in the game for Mines of the 11 that checked in over the course of 40 minutes
-Following a near-perfect night at the charity stripe Thursday, the Orediggers went 11-11 Saturday thanks to six individuals
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers return to Lockridge Arena next weekend against CSU Pueblo and Colorado Christian Thursday January 16 and Saturday January 18.

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.