DALLAS, Texas – Looking to continue their run of postseason success in 2025, the #7/9 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball took the court at the Burg Center Saturday afternoon in opening round action of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship against seventh-seeded West Texas A&M. The Orediggers (28-4) built up a double figure lead in the first half before fending off the Buffs (19-12) in the second half and pulling away over the closing minutes on their way to a 74-62 win.
 
The first four field goals of the game were all of the three-point variety as Mackenzie Morgan started the scoring and was joined by Jailyn Sledge while Riley Schroeder and Majok Deng each knocked down shots on the other end to keep things level in the opening minutes. After a 1-2 trip to the free throw line by Noah Pagotto, Reagan Koch gave Mines their first lead on a jumper at 16:19 before Ahamed Mohammed quickly flipped the score back the other way with a basket on the other end. Koch then netted a tough layup the next possession, giving the Orediggers the lead for good and making it 10-9 with 14:41 in the half.
 
Adam Krasovec, Markus Pastorcic-Straun and Grant Pressly helped stretch the advantage to seven behind a 6-0 run and after a Nicholas Jett jumper, Alex Romack and Caleb Clark got in on the scoring with both scoring on second-chance opportunities to make it 24-15 at the 8:16 mark. A 2-3 trip to the line by Pastorcic-Straun made it a 10-point game just about a minute later as neither side scored until Pagotto converted a three-point play at the 4:40 mark to make it 25-18. Cade Mankle exchanged buckets to Mohammed before Deng did the same with Kemper Jones as by the end of that sequence the Orediggers led 30-24. A third basket in the half by Koch and another 1-2 trip to the line by Pastorcic-Straun closed the scoring in the half as Mines took a nine-point lead to the break.
 
 Coming out in the second half, that lead was all but erased as a 9-0 run by the Buffs behind Sledge and Narit Chotikavanic leveled the score at 33. Juani Dassie and Mohammad then traded three-pointers before the senior from Argentina hit a second from downtown followed by a trey from Mankle to quickly surge back ahead 42-36. A three from Chotikavanic cut the lead down to three at 44-41 with 13:22 to play before West Texas A&M again closed the gap and made it one-point game following a 1-2 trip to the line by Mohammed with just over 11 minutes remaining.
 
A Schroeder layup and a three-pointer from close to the midcourt logo by Deng ran the advantage back to six at 51-45 at the halfway mark of the period. After Deng went 1-2 at stripe, Krasovec knocked down his first three of the game to make it a 10-point game once more. A jumper from Pagotto briefly made it a nine-point game, Pressly connected from behind the arc as the lead peaked at 12 and made it 62-50 inside the five-minute mark.
 
A quick 8-2 burst from Pagotto and Chotikavanic saw West Texas A&M draw to within half a dozen at 64-58. A layup from Deng off a miss by Mohammed stemmed the tide and made it 66-58 before Pastorcic-Straun got behind the Buffs' full court pressure for a dunk to make it a 10-point game with 87 seconds to go. A missed layup by Chotikavanic in the final minute led to the sophomore from Ontario throwing down another jam to extend the lead to 72-60. Mohammad raced down court and laid one in seconds later, but it mattered not as Pastorcic-Straun closed out the score with one more layup on the other end ad the Orediggers advanced to the regional semifinal with a 74-62 win.
 
NOTABLES
-Mines collected their first NCAA Tournament win since the 2021 edition of the tournament when they defeated Biola at home 83-52 in the second round
-Deng led three in double figures Saturday with 14 points on 4-7 shooting including 3-4 from downtown with five rebounds
-Pastorcic-Straun added 12 off the bench with four coming on dunks down the stretch to ice the game as he shot 4-8 from the floor with three boards, three assists and two steals
-Schroeder battled foul trouble in the second half but still managed to finish with 10 points, five rebounds and three dimes on 4-7 from the floor with five rebounds and three assists
-Krasovec had a monster day on the glass, finishing one rebound shy of his career high with 11 while dishing out four assists and scoring five
-Koch was big off the bench in the first half as he stuffed the stat sheet in the game, ending with eight points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal
-Dassie knocked two clutch three-pointers off the bench as was a perfect 2-2 from downtown in the game to finish with six of his own
-Pressly and Mankle both finished with five points and combined for five assists while Pressly also added five rebounds and a steal
-Defensively, the Orediggers held WTAMU to 31.7% (19-60) shooting in the game and finished with a 45-39 advantage on the glass
 
UP NEXT
Mines takes the court again Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m. CT in the regional semifinals against sixth-seeded St. Mary's (TX) after the Rattler upset Lubbock Christian in the opening round 67-61.

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.