DALLAS, Texas – Looking to secure a spot in next week's NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Elite Eight, the #7/9 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team took the court for the final time at the Burg Center Tuesday night in the championship game of the South Central region against host and top-seeded #4/6 Dallas Baptist. Unfortunately for the Orediggers (29-5), they were unable to take the next step on their postseason as while things went back-and-forth in the early going, the Patriots (33-4) took control mid-way through the first half and never looked back on their way to a 100-79 win.
 
Cameron Kahn and Ricky Lujan put the Patriots up 4-0 to start things off before Alex Romack and Majok Deng combined for the next six to take a two-point lead. Twice DBU tied the game over the next couple of minutes and twice Markus Pastorcic-Straun helped retain the lead with a tip in bucket and a 2-2 trip to the free throw line to make it 10-8 with 16:16 in the half.
 
A 6-0 run by Dallas Baptist saw them jump back in front as a layup from Isaac Bullard at 15:19 ended up being the final lead change of the game and while a Deng jumper briefly made it 14-12, a 12-3 run saw the deficit swell to 11 and 26-15 with 11:16 to play. A three-pointer from Jaden Shelvin made it 31-16 moments later as the Orediggers tried to battle back going into the half, closing back within nine at 40-31 following a layup by Riley Schroeder at the 5:17 mark. Unfortunately, a 13-8 run to end the half by the Patriots saw them take a 55-39 lead to the locker room.
 
DBU's lead hit 20 shortly after the second half resumed and while Adam Krasovec's three ball at 16:24 made it and 18-point game at 62-44, the Patriots seemingly didn't miss as their shots kept falling as they kept the Orediggers at arm's length. Mines battled until the final buzzer though as they continued to run their offense until the very end, ending the game on a 5-0 run capped by a Grant Pressly layup before time expired on a 100-79 result.
 
NOTABLES
-Deng's final collegiate game saw him score 15 points in 5-8 shooting as he went 3-5 from three and was 2-2 at the line; in his two seasons at Mines, the sixth-year man started all 66 games he played in and averaged 24.4 MPG and shot .451 (326-723) from the floor, .406 (143-352) from the three-point line which places him ninth on the all-time list, .859 (262-305) from the free throw line which places him fourth on the all-time list while his .885 (115-130) percentage this season is seventh-best all-time
-Deng also hauled down 243 rebounds for an average of 3.7 RPG with 46 assists, 42 steals, 11 blocks and 1,057 points for an average of 16.0 PPG while in his career between Mines and Pepperdine he appeared in 107 games with 71 starts and shot .434 (354-815) from the floor, .377 (157-416) from three and .854 (274-321) from the stripe with 290 rebounds for 2.7 RPG with 52 assists, 49 steals, 13 blocks and 1,139 points
-Mankle's final game saw him score nine with seven rebounds as his time at Mines closes with 73 starts in 93 games as he shot .445 (263-591) from the floor, .343 (71-207) from the three point line and connected on 86 free throws with 231 rebounds, 217 assists, 63 steals and 683 points
-Dassie's two years in Golden sees him leave as the single-season three-point percentage record as he shot .500 (115-230) from the field, .463 (90-195) from the three-point line and .85-0 (34-40) at the free throw line with 354 points, 70 rebounds, 37 assists, 18 steals and 13 blocks
-Koch went for nine in his final game concluded his career with 525 points and shot .476 (178-374) from the field, .430 (95-221) from the three-point line and .763 (74-97) from the line with 240 rebounds for 2.4 RPG with 163 assists, 72 steals and 21 blocks while turning in the finest season of his career in 2024-25, scoring 6.9 PPG and shooting .494/.474/.818 with 3.0 RPG, 64 assists 24 steals and eight blocks
-Krasovec scored five Tuesday night and ended his four seasons in Golden starting 28 times in 113 games and shooting .520 (294-565) from the floor, .388 (76-196) from downtown and .748 (98-131) at the free throw line with 412 rebounds, 138 assists, 52 blocks and 45 steals
-Pressly's first season as a starter saw him pen his name into the single-season records book with 125 assists, now the ninth-most in a season as over his five seasons he started 36 of his 115 games and shot .414 (63-152) from the floor with 18 three-pointers, 244 rebounds, 217 assists, 66 steals and 13 blocks
-Schroeder's five-year career wrapped with him starting 82 times in 134 games and scoring 1,050 points while shooting .494 (414-838) from the field, .327 (91-278) from three and .799 (131-164) at the stripe with 439 rebounds, 178 assists, 67 steals and 67 blocks as he posted his best career season in 2024-25
-Pastorcic-Straun was named to the Region All-Tournament Team and led all scorers with 25 points on 9-11 shooting with five rebounds
-Romack was named the Region All-Tournament Team as well and finished with 10 points on 3-6 shooting and went 4-4 at the line with six boards
-The Orediggers shot .473 (26-55) in the game and got another big night from their bench with 39 points
-Head Coach Pryor Orser concludes his 24th season with a record of 474-232
-Mines' 29 wins this season are the most since a 30-win campaign in 2016-17 and is tied for the second-most win in a single season under Orser's direction
 
UP NEXT
The offseason awaits the Orediggers as they'll begin preparations for the 2025-26 season. Stay tuned to minesathletics.com for more news on postseason awards, player signings and more.

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.