GOLDEN, Colo. – Looking to continue their postseason journey, the #9/9 Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team took the court Friday night in the 2025 RMAC Men's Basketball Championship semifinals in front of a crowd of more than 1,200 against Black Hills State. Following a lackluster start to the night, the Orediggers (26-4) erupted midway through the first half and never looked back, riding big nights from All-RMAC performers Majok Deng and Markus Pastorcic-Straun on their way to a win over the Yellow Jackets (18-12) by a score of 77-64.
 
Two Jaeton Hackley free throws on the night's first possession saw BHSU take the first lead of the night before a Joel Speckman layup nearly two and a half minutes later made it 4-0 as neither side was able to finish possessions in the early going. Mines had four offensive boards in their first two possessions and started the game 0-6 shooting with three turnovers before Pastorcic-Straun broke the seal with just his fourth three-pointer of the year. After a missed three on the other end, Juani Dassie scored on a driving layup to take a 5-4 lead.
 
Tristan Hurdle answered on the other end with a second-chance layup before Dassie retook the lead again with a 3-3 trip to the free throw line after he was fouled on a corner three attempt in front of the Oredigger band. Those free throws ignited a 19-0 run that spanned the next six minutes of game action as the Yellow Jackets went ice cold, went 0-5 with three turnovers. After a layup by Pastorcic-Straun, the Mines starters checked back in and carried the load as Deng cleaned up a missed three-pointer by Pressly before hitting the first of four straight makes by the Orediggers. Cade Mankle was next to hit from deep followed by Riley Schroeder. After Pressly came away with a steal, Mankle hit a step-back off Schroeder screen from 25 feet and almost on the sideline to make it 24-6 and all but blow the roof off Lockridge Arena.
 
Black Hills State gradually chipped away at the deficit and managed to close within 11 in the final minute of the half following a three-pointer from Tristan Hurdle as part of a 10-0 run that made it 32-21 before Pastorcic-Straun went 1-2 at the stripe to close things out and made it a 12-point game through 20 minutes.
 
It was shades of déjà vu for the Orediggers as play resumed in the second half with the Yellow Jackets mirroring what Chadron State did Tuesday night. The visitors closed to within five a 33-28 following a dunk from Speckman along with a layup and a three by BJ Woodruff. A layup by Caleb Clark provided a moment's respite for Mines and ended up being the front end of an 8-2 run to build the lead back up to 11 at 41-30 with 13:46 to play.
 
After Woodruff and Deng traded three-pointers, a sequence of four-straight possessions resulting in points saw the lead dip to single digits at 48-39 following a jumper by RMAC Freshman of the Year Cam Lowe.
 
Unfortunately for BHSU, that was as close as it would be down the stretch as Reagan Koch buried a corner three from Pressly before coming up with a steal on the ensuing inbounds pass and dishing back to Pressly for a layup to make it 53-39. A massive second-chance three-point play from Alex Romack made it a 15-point lead at 58-43 and after a layup by Hackley, Pastorcic-Straun scored the next four to extend the lead to 17 with just over seven minutes to play at 62-45.
 
Woodruff and Lowe did their best to help rally the Yellow Jackets as the minutes ticked off, managing to get back within 10 following two free throws from the Colorado State transfer Lowe inside three minutes, but Mines was having none of it as Mankle, Riley Schroeder and Deng helped close it out as they scored 10 of the final 16 points of the night in a 77-64 win.
 
NOTABLES
-Deng scored a game-high 22 on 7-14 from the floor and went 2-4 from three along with 6-6 from the line and tied his season-high with eight rebounds
-Pastorcic-Straun netted 19 off the bench and added six rebounds of his own along with a block
-Mankle finished with nine highlighted by a 2-3 night from downtown
-Dassie scored seven in the game without a three-point field goal, converting two layups and a 3-3 trip at the free throw line after being fouled on a three-point attempt
-Romack scored six and had a monster night on the glass, finishing with seven boards including six on the offensive glass
-Schroeder had six rebounds of his own to go with five points and two assists as he battled four trouble
-All 10 players who saw action for Mines scored in the game and all 10 clocked at least 12 minutes
-The Orediggers tied their single-game season highs with 46 rebounds Friday night and 17 offensive boards
-The second unit was a major factor in the win, as they outscored BHSU 33-7
-Mines is back in the RMAC Tournament title game for the second time in the last three seasons as they look to finish the story this year
-The Orediggers and Rangers will be meeting for the first time ever in the RMAC Tournament title game
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers will play for the 2025 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship crown Saturday at Lockridge Arena against Regis with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. The Rangers punched their ticket to the title game with a 69-62 win over sixth-seeded Fort Lewis in the first semifinal of the day.

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.