#16/11 Mines (9-2) vs. Northern New Mexico (5-17) – Saturday, 3 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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NON-CONFERENCE ACTION FOR THE NEW YEAR
After being idle since December 20, the #16/11 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team will return to action in 2025 with their final non-conference bout of the season Saturday at Lockridge Arena, as they welcome Northern New Mexico College to Golden.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Saturday's game will be streamed free of charge on the RMAC Network. Free live stats will also be available. Links for video and stats can be found on minesathletics.com.
 
FAN INFORMATION
Fans are encouraged to utilize the parking garage on Maple Street or Lot D directly across from Lockridge Arena. Fans are not allowed to park in the neighborhoods surrounding the Mines campus, as the City of Golden's street parking requires a permit seven days a week.
 
BLASTER'S BASKET
Admissions to Saturday's game against NNMC will be free, but fans are encouraged to bring a donation item or consider a cash donation to Blaster's Basket. Blaster's Basket is the food pantry on campus that provides non-perishable food, toiletries and basic school supplies to Orediggers in need.
 
AT THE HELM
The 2024-25 season will be the 24th for the Orediggers under the guidance of head coach Pryor Orser. The winningest coach in the history of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Orser's record stands at 454-229 overall and a mark of 321-155 in league play. Under Orser, Mines has won five RMAC regular-season championships and two RMAC Tournament titles and qualified for 13 NCAA Tournaments including two Elite Eight trips. 
 
IN THE POLLS
The Orediggers were tabbed the preseason favorites to win the RMAC this season, earning 11 of 14 first place ballots and compiling 191 points. MSU Denver was picked to finish second followed by Regis, Black Hills State and Colorado Mesa.
 
The Orediggers checked in at #16 in this week's NABC Division II Coaches Poll. Four of the nation's top five teams remained the same in the NABC rankings as Nova Southeastern and Washburn remained 1-2 while Daemen (N.Y.) and Ferris State moved up one spot each third and fourth following the third-ranked Hilltoppers' loss to Top 25 newcomer Missouri S&T. Minot State rounds out the top five this week, jumping all the way up from #12 in the last poll before the holidays.
 
There was no new D2CSC Media Poll this week. The most recent edition of the poll on December 16 had Mines ranked #11 following the second weekend of RMAC play. NSU, WLU, WU, WTAMU and FSU were ranked 1-5 while MSUD was #25.

WEEK 6 RECAP
The Orediggers closed out action in 2024 by playing at the Division II Holiday Hoops Classic at the South Point Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mines played a mix of teams and had a chance to collect a pair of wins, but instead went 1-1 against #3/2 West Liberty and Angelo State.
 
Against the Hilltoppers, 32 points allowed off 17 turnovers and at least 10 points left at the free throw line loomed large in a 92-87 loss for the Orediggers. A career-high 24 points on 10-11 shooting by Markus Pastorcic-Straun along with 13 from Riley Schroeder and 12 from Juani Dassie weren't enough to swing the tide in the Orediggers' favor. Majok Deng flirted with a double-double in the game as Mines shot 53.4% (31-58) as a team overall but just 33.3% (7-21) from long range.
 
Mines rebounded against the Rams with a 71-54 win with Schroeder and Pastorcic-Straun again leading the way. The fifth-year man out of Orange, California led the way with his first 20-point performance of the season, going 6-7 from the field and all from beyond the arc while the sophomore from Ontario did most of his damage at the free throw line, going 8-12 while dishing out four assists. Cade Mankle also had a strong night, dropping 11 on 4-8 shooting despite battling foul trouble. Mines also took care of the ball better from the night prior, committing just six turnovers and playing strong defense, forcing nine turnovers by Angelo State and send them to the free throw line just four times in the winning effort.
 
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. Just weeks later in February, 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.
 
NATIONAL STATS
The Orediggers can find themselves in several places among the national statistical leaders as team this season. Currently, Mines is sixth in the country in assists per game at 20.3 and fifth nationally in bench points at 41.9 PPG. Their 13.5 scoring margin is good for 19th and their 10.1 three-pointers per game is enough for 26th. The Orediggers are also 17th in assist/turnover ratio at 1.56 and now 24th nationally in field goal percentage at 49.4% while ranked 25th in three-point percentage at 38.3%.
 
NON-CONFERENCE NICETIES
Saturday will be the final non-conference action of the season for the Orediggers, who are currently 5-2 against non-league opponents in the 2024-25 season. Looking back over the past few seasons, Mines has enjoyed quite a bit of non-conference success. Looking back over the last eight seasons, Mines is 34-12 (.739) outside of league action and has won five or more of those games in five seasons, including each of the last three. With the resumption of RMAC play on deck next week, Mines would like nothing more than to start off the new year with a win and get back to their winning ways.
 
GETTING THAT SILVER
Grant Pressly and Reagan Koch each completed their undergraduate degrees in May and collected their silver-plated diplomas as they walked across the stage and are back for more as both have begun graduate programs. Pressly, a fifth-year man out of Plano, Texas earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Engineering and Management Science while Koch needed just three years to graduate with a degree in in Mechanical Engineering. Both men are currently pursuing graduate degrees in Engineering and Technology Management.
 
CHECKING THE STATS
Five Orediggers are currently scoring better than 10 points per night, led by Majok Deng who is averaging 15.3 per game and shooting .433/.345/.867 to go with 4.5 RPG, 10 assists, 10 steals and two blocks. Riley Schroeder is next at 11.8 PPG and has scored in double figures in four of the last five games while shooting .526/.450/.727 in his nine games of action with 21 dimes, five steals and four blocks.
 
Juani Dassie is next as he had a relatively quiet week in Las Vegas but is still scoring at a clip of 11.2 PPG while shooting .553 from the floor and .508 from deep with a team-high 32 three-pointers, just eight shy of his total from all of last season, and has 13 assists, eight steals and four blocks as well. Alex Romack is netting 10.8 per night as he's been coming off the bench more this season but is still a force down low, pulling down 5.2 rebounds per night while shooting .629 with 14 assists, seven blocks and seven steals.
 
Following his big week out west, Markus Pastorcic-Straun rounds out the group at 10.4 PPG on .514 shooting with 31 dimes and a team-best 14 steals. Reagan Kock shined in his first start of the season against Westminster and is scoring 6.2 PPG off the bench while shooting .364 from deep with 26 assists, 12 steals and three blocks.
 
Cade Mankle (6.0 PPG, .415 FG%) and Grant Pressly (3.0 PPG, .429 FG%) have both stuffed the stat sheet when it comes to assists and steals this season, as they find themselves tied for the club lead with 38 dimes while adding 13 and 10 steals respectively. Jonathan Moore (5.0 PPG, .649 FG%) has been a defensive force as well, leading the team and ranking near the top of the RMAC with 11 rejections while also dishing out 17 assists.
 
Entering the new year, the Orediggers average 84.2 PPG and are +13.5 in scoring margin. They shoot .494/.383/.718 as a unit while opposing teams have shot .436/.338/.697. They are +5.5 in rebounding margin at 37.1 per night and average 20.3 assists as well. The West Liberty game raised the team's turnover average to an even 13 as they find themselves now just +0.5 in TO margin, but still have a 1.6 assist/turnover ratio and average almost 16 PPG off 13.5 opponent turnovers per contest. Defensively they average 8.3 steals and 3.3 blocks per game.
 
SCOUTING NORTHERN NEW MEXICO
The Eagles have been a busy bunch this year as they played their 22nd official game of the season Monday at Division II newcomer Sul Ross State improving to 5-17 with a nail-biting 64-63 win. They'll take on Colorado Christian Friday night before heading up Highway 6 to Golden Saturday.
 
A member of the NAIA ranks, Northern New Mexico has played a wide range of opponents across the spectrum of college athletics including seven games against six other RMAC schools. Though they have gone 0-7 in action against Adams State, Colorado Mesa, Fort Lewis, MSU Denver, Regis and New Mexico Highlands (twice), they have played some close games including a 63-60 contest against the Mavericks, a 71-69 game the second time around against the Cowboys at home, a 97-88 game against the Grizzlies and a 58-53 affair against the Rangers.
 
Season stats for the Eagles are a bit tough to decipher given their vast schedule and playing such a mix of regular season and exhibition games against a multitude of opponents, but there are some names worth keeping an eye on looking at recent performances.
 
Nigel Quaynor leads the list of those to watch as he dropped 15 on 6-12 shooting in Monday night's win, finishing with 14 rebounds as well for a double-double. Malik Malual also went for 15 on 5-8 from the floor and 5-8 shooting while Tahj-Malik Campbell added nine points and seven rebounds. A total of nine different players scored for the Eagles in their win over the Lobos.
 
Prior to Tuesday's game, NNMU played UTEP in an exhibition contest on December 28 and were once again led by a 14-point 10-rebound double-double by Quaynor while Campbell added 13, six and three assists. Eloy Medina was the third man that night as he went for 13 behind four made field goals, including three from long range. Prior to Christmas, the Eagles played the University of Science and Arts Oklahoma and dropped a 77-68 contest the Drovers. Campbell led the way with 17 points on 7-11 shooting and eight rebounds, while Media netted 13 with four assists and Quaynor just missed a double-double with 11 and nine and was one of three players to foul out of the contest.
 
Against NCAA teams in 12 games this season, Northern New Mexico averages 62.9 PPG and is -16.1 in scoring margin. They are shooting .427/.368/.661 as a team while opponents have shot .474/.339/.697. They average 33.3 rebounds per game and find themselves +0.5 in rebounding margin. They average just 9.9 assists, 7.5 steals and 2.5 blocks per game. Quaynor averages 12.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and shooting .544 from the floor while Campbell averages 11.3 per night, but has just a sample size of four games against NCAA opponents. Malual averages 7.9 PPG on .463 shooting in those games while Joziah Ramos is another to watch at 7.6 PPG with 13 assists as a .324 three-point shooter. Meanwhile Medina (6.1 PPG, .281 FG%) and Jesus Mendoza (5.0 PPG, .450 FG%, .500 3FG%) both have 16 three-pointers against NCAA competition.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Orediggers and Eagles have met twice previously with Mines taking both meetings, most recently a 93-62 win in Lockridge Arena on New Year's Eve of 2023. 13 different players scored in the game for the Orediggers with Majok Deng, Juani Dassie, Cade Mankle and Alex Romack all finishing in double figures. The first meeting between the teams was a 96-59 win following Thanksgiving in 2011.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Following Saturday's matchup with the Eagles, Mines will return to Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play Thursday January 9 at Chadron State before closing the weekend Saturday January 11 at South Dakota Mines.

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.