DENVER, Colo. – A nearly 40-year old school record fell Thursday night as the Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team closed out their three-game road trip with a 120-81 win over Regis. Freshman Shelton Henton splashed a record-breaking 11 three-pointers on his way to a career night and was one of five in double figures for the Orediggers (10-10, 6-3), who never trailed against the Rangers (1-15, 0-9) and got back to .500 for the first time this season as they improved to 5-1 in the new year.
 
The teams matched each other scoring the opening minutes before Jonathan Moore splashed a three-pointer to make it 9-6 with 17:19 in the first half to take the lead back for good. The Rangers held their own and kept it close as Dylan Forbord's layup near the 13-minute mark closed the separation to just two points at 16-14. A turning point in the game came with 11:29 in the half a Regis head coach Rex Walters was ejected after receiving back-to-back technical fouls after voicing his displeasure at the officials. Kasen Lehman went to the line and converted three of the four free throws to push the lead up to seven at 21-14. Braydon Jacob buried a triple to make it a double figure lead for the first time at 26-16 with 9:38 before the break, after which a flurry of three-pointers from both sides accounted for seven of 10 field goals from 7:06 to 3:23 as Henton started to heat up late in the first half with three late makes. Alex Romack handled business down low with a pair of put back buckets in the waning minutes of play, the second of which made it a 20-point game for the first time before Trent Minter and Cooper Frith traded buckets to end the half at 59-40.
 
Henton and Minter kicked off the scoring as play resumed in the second half before Moore brought the Mines faithful in attendance to their feet with a thunderous two-handed slam that made it 66-42. A three-pointer the other way by mid-year addition Nick Marabito brought the Rangers back within 21 on the next possession, but that was as close as things came over the final 16:43. Kellson Johnson came back with a three the next trip for the Orediggers as both teams continued to get up and down the floor on a night where offense was the word of the day. The second unit for Mines shined bright in the second half, as an 11-3 run thanks to Lehman, Jacob and Cooper Mroczek made it a 30-point lead for the first time at 89-58 with 8:26 to play. Henton didn't slow down in the second half either, as after flushing five triples in the opening period added six more in the second with his final and record-breaking make coming at 3:03 to make it 111-69 and a 42-point lead. The Orediggers emptied their bench over the final five minutes as Matija Jordovic and Silas McCurnin each went for five points down the stretch. Seven of the final 11 points of the night went the way of the Rangers, but did little to impact a long-decided outcome as Mroczek closed out the scoring and put a bow on a 120-81 win.
 
NOTABLES
-Henton had the best night of his young career Thursday, dropping an eye-popping 37 points on 13-19 shooting including 11-17 from the three-point line in 28 minutes; after just missing tying the single-game three-point record on January 8 against Chadron State, Henton shattered the 37-year old record of 10 held by Mike Ziegler
-Minter recorded his second points-assists double-double of the season, ending with 16 points on 7-9 shooting with four rebounds, three steals and was originally credited with 13 assists which was later updated to 14 after review; his 14 assists broke the single-game record set by Trevor Ritchie against Colorado Mesa back on January 30, 2015
-Lehman continued the red-hot start to his career, dropping 15 off the bench on 5-8 shooting with a pair of three-pointers and the first free throws of his career
-Moore just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds as he went 5-7 from the floor and 2-3 from deep while adding four assists
-Mroczek rounded out five in double figures with 11 off the bench on 3-4 shooting and a perfect 4-4 from the line with two rebounds, a block and a steal
-Romack's double-double streak ended at five games as he closed the night with seven points, but kept his double digit rebounding streak alive at six games by hauling in 11 boards, as after review he was credited with an additional rebound in the first half to increase his total from 10
-The 120 points scored by the Orediggers Thursday night is the most in a game since a 117-point outing at Adams State on February 3, 2024, and was just 10 points shy of the program's single-season record of 130
-Mines shot .587 (44-75) from the floor and .514 (19-37) from three-point land in the game with 18 offensive rebounds and finished +27 in rebounding margin to set a new program record and break the previous mark of +26 which came against Rocky Mountain College on November 13, 1998; the 44 field goals made are the most since November 26, 2016 when 47 field goals were made against Dine College, while the 19 three-pointers are the most since the Orediggers splashed 17 against Colorado Christian on February 6, 2018
-The Orediggers shot better than 58% from the floor in each half (.583/.590), 50% or better from three in each half (.533/.500) and better than 57% from the free throw line in each half (.900/.571)
-11 of 12 players who checked into the game for Mines scored
-Mines has now won their last three games against Regis by an average margin of 32.7 points with two wins by 30 or more
 
UP NEXT
Mines is back home Saturday at 3 p.m. at Lockridge Arena against MSU Denver.

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.