#15/13 Mines (10-2, 4-0) at Chadron State (6-6, 2-2) – Thursday, 7 p.m. – Chadron, Neb. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#15/13 Mines (10-2, 4-0) at South Dakota Mines (1-11, 1-3) – Saturday, 3 p.m. – Rapid City, S.D. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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RMAC-TION RESUMES
After getting a brief taste of league action to open the month of December, the #15/13 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team returns for the main course starting this weekend as they hit the road for the first time in 2025 to take on Chadron State and South Dakota Mines as they look to keep pace atop the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Standings.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
This week'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.
 
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 455-229 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.
 
Mines was back on the move in the national polls Tuesday, moving up one spot to #15 in the NABC Division II Coaches Poll and #13 in the D2 CSC Media Rankings. The top five teams in the NABC polls remained the same with just one change to the order. Nova Southeastern was the unanimous #1 this week, taking all 16 first place votes followed by Washburn and Daemen. Minot State and Ferris State swapped fourth and fifth to round out the top five this week. MSU Denver returned to the rankings this week after dropping out last week, as they checked in at #22. In the media poll, the Sharks were again a unanimous #1 with all 14 first place ballots followed by the Ichabods. Ferris State and Daemen went 3-4 followed by West Liberty at #5.

WEEK 7 RECAP
If the Orediggers were supposed to look out of sorts following a two week break for the holidays, they didn't get the memo as they rolled to a 106-48 win over Northern New Mexico last Saturday at Lockridge Arena. Majok Deng led five players in double digits with a game-high 26 points on 8-11 shooting including 4-6 from three and 6-6 at the line in just 16 minutes. Cade Mankle and Juani Dassie each netted 12 with the former shooting 5-8 and the latter going 4-7, all from long range, while the duo combined for six assists. Reagan Koch added 11 off the bench on 4-6 shooting and went 3-4 from downtown while Jonathan Moore had a big day, scoring a career-high 10 and pocketing three steals with five boards, two dimes and a block while shooting 4-5 from the floor and 2-3 from deep. Grant Pressly flirted with the single-game assist record, putting up a career-high 10 while Caleb Clark scored a career-best eight on a perfect 3-3 shooting and added six boards, including four on the offensive glass. Derek Lamb also had a career-best four points and four assists down the stretch.
 
FOR ALL TIME
Currently in his 24th 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 January 20 of last season, 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.
 
RMAC RESET
With league play resuming this weekend, let's look at the league standings. Mines and MSU Denver stand atop of the conference at 4-0 followed by the trio of CSU Pueblo, Black Hills State and Regis at 3-1. UCCS knocked off Colorado Christian Tuesday to improve to 3-2 and move into sixth. While seventh through 11th are occupied by the 2-2 teams of UCCS, Fort Lewis, Chadron State, Western Colorado and Adams State. CCU is 2-3 while Westminster and South Dakota Mines are 1-3 with 0-4 New Mexico Highlands and Colorado Mesa bringing up the rear.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS
Surveying the RMAC leaderboards, several Orediggers find themselves at or near the top of the league in several categories. Majok Deng is tied for fourth in the conference in scoring at 16.2 PPG and is eighth in field goals with 63 made this season. Juani Dassie is second in the RMAC in three-point percentage at .514 and three-point field goals with 36. Grant Pressly meanwhile is second in the conference in assists with 48 while Cade Mankle is seventh with 42. That duo is also first and third in assist/turnover ratio at 3.4 and 2.1 respectively. Jonathan Moore is tied for seventh in the RMAC in blocked shots with sophomore running mate Markus Pastorcic-Straun just outside the top 10 in the conference in both assists and steals.
 
As a team, Mines is second in the RMAC in scoring at 86.0 PPG trailing only Adams State and is one of just three teams scoring more than 80 per game while defensively they rank sixth in scoring at 68.6 PPG. The Orediggers lead the league with a .507 field goal percentage, a .400 three-point percentage and 128 three-pointers made while ranking sixth and fourth respectively in opponent field goal and opponent three-point percentage. Mines is also fifth in the RMAC in rebounding average, sixth in total rebounds while showcasing their ability on the offensive glass, ranking second in offensive boards. They also lead the league in assist/turnover ratio at 1.59 thanks to a league-leading 253 assists against 159 turnovers. The only team with 200 or more assists in the RMAC this season, the Orediggers are also tied for third in blocked shots with 40 and are the fourth of four teams with 100 or more steals at 101.
 
NATIONAL STATS
The Orediggers can find themselves in several places among the national statistical leaders as team this season. Currently, Mines is fourth in the country in assists per game at 21.1 and third nationally in bench points at 42.5 PPG. Their 17.3 scoring margin is good for 11th and their 10.7 three-pointers per game is enough for 14th. The Orediggers are also 12th in assist/turnover ratio at 1.59 and now 11th nationally in field goal percentage at 50.7% and 10th in three-point percentage at 40.0%.
 
MILESTONE MEN
Majok Deng is now on the plus side of 100 three-point field goals in his collegiate career with 116 as well as 210 rebounds and is up to 828 points, with 761 of those coming at Mines. Reagan Koch is 29 points shy of 400 in his career and 36 rebounds from 200 and is up to 60 steals. Adam Krasovec needs 10 more field goals for 250 in his career as he also stands with 338 rebounds, 95 assists and 37 steals.
 
Cade Mankle is seven points back of 500 in his Mines tenure and has both 173 rebounds and assists along with 194 field goals and 42 steals. Grant Pressly is on the plus side of 100 career points and is 10 assists away from 150 in his career while just needing one more rebound to hit 150 in that department, while 11 more steals will net him 50. Riley Schroeder needs two points for 800 in his career and depending how the rest of the season goes, 1,000 may still be in a possibility. He also carries 355 rebounds, 137 assists, 54 blocks and 53 steals.
 
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
The rout of Northern New Mexico saw several individuals improve their season stat totals across the board. Majok Deng remains the team leader in scoring at 16.2 PPG to go with 4.3 RPG, 11 steals, 10 assists and 10 blocks while shooting .457/.377/.882. Riley Schroeder missed the 2025 opener and will look to return this weekend as he's averaging 11.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game with 21 dimes as a .526/.450/.727 shooter.
 
Three more Orediggers are scoring 10 or more per game, as Juani Dassie continues another fine season with 11.3 PPG off the bench as a .554/.514/.700 shooter with 15 assists, nine steals and six blocked shots. Alex Romack is scoring 10.7 per night and leads Mines in rebounding at 5.2 per game while shooting .640 with 17 assists, eight steals and eight blocks mostly off the bench this season. Markus Pastorcic-Straun rounds out the group at an even 10.0 PPG as a .520 shooter with 34 assists and 16 steals.
 
Reagan Koch enters the week averaging 6.6 PPG and is shooting .417 from the floor with 15 of his 25 makes coming from long range to go along with 26 assists and 12 steals. Cade Mankle has run the point this season and scored 6.5 PPG and shot .438 with 42 assists and 13 steals. Jonathan Moore is enjoying a nice first season as a starter, scoring 5.4 PPG and shooting .667 with 19 dimes, six steals and leads the team with 12 blocks.
 
Grant Pressly (2.7 PPG) is coming off a career assist day last time out as he leads the team with 48 along with 10 steals while Caleb Clark (3.8 PPG, .400 FG%, .367 3FG%) has enjoyed success in his first season of extended action, adding 16 assists and five steals. Adam Krasovec (3.9 PPG, .433 FG%) is back in the rotation as well and will look to find his form heading back into RMAC play.
 
The Orediggers this season are averaging an even 86.0 PPG and are +17.3 in scoring margin. They are shooting .507/.400/.722 while limiting opponents to .426/.323/.690. They average 37.1 RPG and are +5.9 in rebounding margin and dish out better than 21 assists per game. They turn the ball over 13.3 times per game and are just +0.9 in TO margin, but score 17.3 PPG off opponent turnovers. Defensively, they pocked 8.4 steals and record 3.3 blocks per game.
 
SCOUTING CHADRON STATE
Under the direction of first-year head coach Chris Francis, the Eagles are 6-6 overall and 2-2 in the RMAC where they most recently knocked off CSU Pueblo 66-62 before falling to UCCS 84-79. Their last action was a December 19 exhibition at South Dakota State preceded by a 107-50 win over NAIA Central Christian College on December 16.
 
Just four members of last year's team returned for the 2024-25 season as 11 newcomers joined the Eagles. One of those is Tarleton State grad transfer Jalen Thomas who leads the team in scoring at 10.8 PPG, rebounding at 5.2 RPG and assists with 36 while shooting .467 from the floor, .821 at the line and connecting on 6-12 shots from three. UTPB transfer Zy Wright is next at 10.6 PPG with 5.1 RPG to go with 16 dimes, eight steals and two blocks as a .374/.313/.811 shooter.
 
Julio Phipps, one of the four returners, is thriving in his first season of extended action, scoring 10.5 PPG and hauling down 4.8 RPG off the bench and leading the team with 13 blocks and is second with 11 steals while shooting .620. Darrius Miles, a transfer from Division I UT Arlington, is scoring 9.8 PPG on .468 shooting and is second to Phipps with 10 blocks. Trey Ballard scores at a clip of 9.1 PPG and is tied for the team lead with 20 three-pointers, shooting .370 from long range.
 
John Jenkins (6.8 PPG, 12 STL, 8 BLK) rounds out the starting five for CSC and leads the team in steals while Treyson Neff (4.4 PPG, 17 AST, 5 STL) and Zach Smith (4.1 PPG, 24 AST, 11 STL) are ones to watch off the bench.
 
For the season, the Eagles are scoring 75.9 PPG and are +4.2 in scoring margin. They shoot .446/.344/.770 while opponents have shot just .420/.296/.667. They average 38.4 rebounds per game and are +2.8 in rebounding margin while dishing out 12.9 assists per game. When it comes to turnovers, CSC is about even with the opposition, coughing it up 12.9 times per game as they are -0.9 in TO margin while they collect 6.1 steals and record 3.0 blocks per game defensively.
 
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
The first half of the season has not been kind to the Hardrockers who enter the weekend 1-11 overall and 1-3 in the RMAC. They were last in action on December 20 in an exhibition against North Dakota and will host MSU Denver Thursday before welcoming Mines to town Saturday.
 
SDMST has lost four straight following their lone win of the season, a 58-50 win at home over Black Hills State top open RMAC play. While their record isn't necessarily indicative of how they've played this season (five losses by 10 points or less), the Hardrockers are second in the RMAC scoring defense at 66.3 PPG. Offense has been the shortcoming so far this season, as they have hit the 60-point mark just three times this season and rank last in the RMAC in offensive scoring average.
 
Last year's leading scorer Cameron Cohn (17.9 PPG, 26 AST, 23 STL) has only appeared in two games this season, once on opening day against Texas A&M Kingsville and most recently returned to play on December 14 against CSU Pueblo, logging just three minutes. If healthy, he may provide a much-needed spark to the SDMST offense. Currently Keagen Smith leads the team in scoring at 10.9 PPG, rebounding with 57 for 4.8 RPG, steals with 16, and three-point field goals with 23 as he's shooting .436/.390/.690 this season and playing more than 36 minutes per night.
 
Tre Dowdell is next in scoring at 9.8 PPG on .394 shooting with 14 assists while Abel Hutchinson is scoring 8.9 per night with 4.1 rebounds per contest and leads the Hardrockers with 27 assists while collecting 14 steals to trail only Smith. Guillem Garcia scores 5.9 per game while Mac Terry checks in a 5.3 per night in large part due to 13 three-pointers on the season and a .361 conversion rate from deep along with 18 assists. Those two have split time between the starting rotation and the bench. Seven-foot-two Jasper Reinalda (1.9 PPG) may also play a role, as he leads the team with eight blocks and recorded 10 of his 29 rebounds this season in the win over BHSU.
 
As a team, South Dakota Mines averages 53.7 PPG and is -12.6 in scoring margin. They shoot .396/.311/.649 as a unit while opponents shoot .491/.342/.686. They average 28.1 rebounds per game but are only -2.7 in rebounding margin and dish out 9.1 assists per game. The Hardrockers do a good job taking care of the ball, turning it over just 11.8 times per game and are -2.5 in TO margin while defensively, they claim 5.2 steals and 2.0 blocks per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines is two games to the good against the Eagles, leading the all-time series 46-44 and winners of 29 in a row going back to 2008 when they split the season series with a 76-74 loss in Chadron and a 60-57 win in Golden. Since then, the Orediggers have won 14 in a row away from home to improve to 21-29 when playing as the road team. The teams met in Chadron last season and saw Mines head coach Pryor Orser become the RMAC all-time leader in wins behind a 40-ball from Majok Deng as he became just the sixth player to reach that mark in a game in a 74-56 win.
 
Against the other STEM school in the RMAC, the Orediggers are 22-9 all-time against the Hardrockers and enter the weekend winners of eight in a row dating back to March of 2020 in the RMAC Tournament. Though the Silver and Blue have won three in a row on the road, playing in Rapid City has been a tricky task for Mines as they are 6-8 all-time at the King Center. In the first of two meetings of the teams last season, it was a pair of Sam Beskind free throws and a steal by Markus Pastorcic-Straun in the waning seconds that averted an upset and secured a 66-65 Mines win.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines will be back at Lockridge Arena for their next three dates starting January 16 against CSU Pueblo followed by Colorado Christian on 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.