LAS VEGAS, Nev. – One of the best second half outings of the season wasn't enough to overcome a slow start offensively for the Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team Saturday night at The South Point Arena in their opening game of the DII Holiday Hoops Classic as they fell to #RV MSU Billings 81-66. After falling behind by as much as 20 in the opening frame, the Orediggers (4-9) did their best to storm back in the second half thanks to the efforts of Alex Romack, Braydon Jacob and Jonathan Moore but a comeback bid fell short as the Yellowjackets (11-2) came away with the win.
 
Alex Romack scored the first points of the night from the line before MSU Billings scored the next 11 to jump out to a nine-point lead just over three minutes into the action. The run continued following a Mines timeout as MSUDB led 14-2 at the under-16 media timeout following a scoring drought of more than four minutes by the Orediggers. The scoreless drought continued until Romack went back to the stripe and went 1-2 at 13:48 before Trent Minter scored the first field goal of the night for Mines at 12:41 as they looked to battle their way back into contention trailing 17-5. As the Yellowjackets stretched their lead to 20 at 31-11 in the final seven minutes of the opening half, Mines made a push down the stretch led by Romack as they looked to finally find their shooting stroke. Kellon Johnson splashed a three while Romack imposed his will in the post before Matija Jordovic ended the half with a 2-2 trip to the stripe to make it 41-23 at the break.
 
A renewed effort in the second half saw the Orediggers gradually draw closer thanks to a better than 50% shooting performance over the final 20 minutes. After MSU Billings led by as much as 26 following a Mason Landdeck layup at 17:15 that made it 54-28, Mines started chipping away at the deficit. While Romack continued to work inside, Braydon Jacob found his shot from long range with a pair of makes near the 15-minute mark that got things going. Cooper Mroczek, Moore and Johnson helped sustain the momentum the Orediggers had a comeback on their mind. After Minter and Mile Gurske traded free throws, Johnson swished a three-ball that closed the gap to 11 at 67-56, but that was as far as Mines managed to get as MSUB stopped the rally cold with a 7-0 run that rang the lead back to 18 with five minutes to go. Back-to-back treys from Moore made it 76-64 with 3:18 left before the Yellowjackets iced things from the free throw line to close out their 81-66 win.
 
NOTABLES
-Romack turned in his seventh double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds on 5-10 shooting and 9-12 from the line
-Moore ended with 17 points and six boards and went 7-14 from the floor and 3-4 from deep while adding three blocks defensively
-Jacob scored a new career-high of 11 off the bench on 4-5 shooting and was a perfect 3-3 from long range
-Johnson ended with eight points on 2-3 from the line with a pair of three-pointers while dishing three assists
-Mroczek chipped in five off the bench on 2-4 shooting
-Mines shot 53.6% (15-28) in the second half including 58.3% (7-12) from long range
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers wrap action in the 2025 calendar year Sunday night at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT from South Point Arena against Rollins in the first-ever meeting between the teams.

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.