DENVER, Colo. – Back on the road and braving the elements to make the trip down I-70 and Federal, the #7/6 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball took the court Saturday afternoon looking to extend their lead in the RMAC standings against Regis. After trailing by as much as 15 in the first half, a second half rally closed the deficit to single digits in the closing moments but unfortunately for the Orediggers (15-3, 9-1) a second half surge and five double figure performances weren't enough to overcome a 61% shooting day by the Rangers (10-8, 8-2), as time and again they kept hitting timely shots and did just enough to come away with a 94-91 result.
 
Consecutive layups for Regis saw them run out to a quick 4-0 lead before a driving baseline dunk from Majok Deng and a jumper from Jonathan Moore got Mines on the board and evened the score. After a missed three-pointer by RU and an Oredigger turnover, the next three possessions all resulted in points with the Rangers coming out ahead on the exchange 8-6.
 
A bucket from Alex Romack immediately following a resumption of play tied the score for a third time, but ultimately that ended up being the last time as an 8-2 Regis run opened up a 16-10 lead. Markus Pastorcic-Straun and Riley Schroeder each scored on layups to close back within a bucket, but again the home team managed to take the punch and counter with one of their own. Kobe Sanders connected on three straight three-pointers and four consecutive field goals from 10:50 to 8:27 as part of a 14-4 run that ended up with RU leading 30-20 after a tip-in basket from Deng broke things up.
 
A three-pointer from Reagan Koch briefly made it a nine-point deficit with 7:07 in the half at 32-23, but another run by the Rangers of the 8-2 variety saw the lead peak at 15 with 4:05 to play at 40-25. To their credit, the Orediggers responded with a 9-2 burst of their own with seven coming from Deng to make it 42-34 heading into the intermission.
 
The final 20 minutes saw Mines close to within four after a driving layup from Grant Pressly off a no-look pass from Cade Mankle that made it 44-40, and after Mankle made two free throws just over 30 seconds later, the deficit shrunk to 46-43. Regis responded by pushing their lead back to seven thanks to a quick 6-2 burst and eventually nine with just 14 minutes to play at 58-49 following a Jalen Brown layup.
 
The Rangers continued to lead by between six and 10 for the next roughly eight minutes until a trey from Koch and a Moore free throw trimmed it back to four at 81-77 with 4:16 to play. Regis continued to hit timely shots and maintain three-possession advantage until Pastorcic-Straun converted a three-point play chance to make it 86-84 with 1:49 left.
 
Sanders answered with a three for the Rangers back the other way to make it a five-point contest. With the outcome going down to the wire Schroeder gave Mines a chance with a top of the arc three after two RU free throws to make it 93-91. A foul on the inbounds pass sent Jalen Brown to the line where he converted the first, but left the door open as the second attempt rimmed off. A half-court prayer by Deng went unanswered as Regis held on for the 94-91 result.
 
NOTABLES
-Deng went for 24 points on 9-17 shooting with three rebounds
-Pastorcic-Straun went for 15 again off the bench on 6-8 shooting with two boards, two dimes and a steal
-Schroeder finished with 13 on 6-7 from the field with three rebounds and two assists as his lone three-pointer of the day gave Mines a chance late
-Koch and Romack each went for 10 off the bench and combined to shoot 7-12 from the floor with three rebounds apiece
-Pressly netted five along with six rebounds and six assists
-Mines shot 56.7% (34-60) for the game including 63.3% (19-30) in the second half and an even 50% (15-30) in the first half
-The Orediggers scored 50 points in the paint for the second time in their last four games
-Despite the result, Mines retains the top spot in the RMAC standings and was the final team to lose a conference contest; they hold a one-game lead over MSU Denver and Regis and are two games up on Fort Lewis
 
UP NEXT
Mines will look to get back in the win column next weekend as they welcome Fort Lewis and Adams State to town January 30 and February 1.

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.