Mines (11-10, 7-3 RMAC) at Fort Lewis (12-5, 10-0 RMAC) – Thursday, 7:30 p.m. – Durango, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network PPV]
Mines (11-10, 7-3 RMAC) at Adams State (11-7, 5-5 RMAC) – Saturday, 3 p.m. – Alamosa, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network PPV]

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ON THE ROAD AGAIN
After a brief respite at home last Saturday, the Colorado School of Mines men's basketball goes back on the road this weekend to close out a stretch with five of six on the road to end the month of January against two challenging opponents in league leader Fort Lewis and Adams State.

LIVE COVERAGE
This week's games will be available for purchase on the RMAC Network. Free live stats will be available as well. Links for video and stats can be found on minesathletics.com.
 
RMAC NETWORK CHANGES
As was announced on June 30, this fall the RMAC Network is moving to a pay-per-view model for all events beginning with the 2025-26 season.
 
RMAC fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours. For technical support questions, fans may submit a support ticket with Hudl Support or email the RMAC directly (rmac@rmacsports.org). For further support, fans can visit the RMAC Network Help page.

AT THE HELM
The 2025-26 season will be the 25th for the Orediggers under the guidance of head coach Pryor Orser. The winningest coach in the history of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Orser's record stands at 485-242 overall and a mark of 342-160 in league play. Under Orser, Mines has won six RMAC regular-season championships and three RMAC Tournament titles and qualified for 14 NCAA Tournaments including two Elite Eight trips. 
 
IN THE POLLS
Mines was picked to finish second in the RMAC this season in the preseason coaches poll announced in late October. Black Hills State was the favorite to win while the top five behind Mines included Colorado Mesa, UCCS and Fort Lewis.
 
The latest national poll saw significant shakeups with Washburn taking over the top spot followed by Daemen. Southern Nazarene moved up to #3 followed by West Texas A&M and Nova Southeastern to round out the top five.

WEEK 11 RECAP
Mines made it three in a row following a weekend sweep of Regis and MSU Denver by scores of 120-81 and 83-69. Thursday night in Denver, the Orediggers posted their highest scoring output of the season with a 59-point opening frame followed by 61 in the final 20 minutes. Shelton Henton was unconscious from the floor, scoring 37 points on 13-19 shooting including a school-record 11-17 from deep. Trent Minter recorded his second points-assists double-double of the season with 16 points on 7-9 from the floor and a school-record 14 assists while adding three steals. Kasen Lehman kept up his strong start to the year with 15 points on 5-8 shooting while Jonathan Moore added 12 on 5-7 including two three-pointers. Cooper Mroczek rounded out five in double figures with 11 off the bench on 3-4 from the floor and 4-4 from the line while Alex Romack bagged 11 rebounds. Saturday against the Roadrunners, a balanced attack saw six score in double figures led once more by Henton with 15. Romack recorded another double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds while Kellon Johnson, Moore, Mroczek and Lehman all scored 10. Moore added two blocks and five rebounds, while Lehman pocketed three steals. Minter was consistent across the board, scoring eight with eight boards, six dimes, three steals and a block.
 
HELLO THERE
A total of nine newcomers join the Orediggers this season as the defending champs look to reload for 2025-26. Get to know Jackson Brennan, Will Essman, Shelton Henton, Kellon Johnson, Kasen Lehman, Trent Minter, Cooper Mroczek, Ryan Pramenko and Gil Schayes here.
 
RMAC RESET
Fort Lewis continues to lead the league at 10-0 and has a two-game lead of 8-2 Black Hills State. Three teams are tied for third at 7-3 as CSU Pueblo, Colorado Mesa and Mines all remain in the hunt as well. 6-4 teams South Dakota Mines and New Mexico Highlands are next ahead of the 5-5 duo of Adams State and UCCS. MSU Denver and Western Colorado are next at 4-6 ahead of the 2-8 trio of Colorado Christian, Westminster and Chadron State with 0-10 Regis bringing up the rear.
 
A NIGHT FOR THE BOOKS
 
 
Thursday night's win over Regis was one for the books as Shelton Henton and Trent Minter penned their names down for individual records, while the Orediggers as a whole made history on the glass. Henton broke a 37-year-old school record with 11 three-pointers, previously held by Mike Ziegler after just missing out on tying the mark with nine treys earlier this month against Chadron State. Minter meanwhile broke an 11-year-old mark for single-game assists with 14, surpassing Trevor Ritchie's mark of 13 back in 2015. As a team, Mines outrebounded Regis 41-14 and set a new single-season record for rebounding margin at +27, passing the previous mark of +26 which came against Rocky Mountain College all the way back in 1998. The 44 field goals made in the game were also the most in a game since 2016 when Mines scored 47 against Dine while the 19 three-pointers were the most in a game since 17 were splashed in 2018 against Colorado Christian.
 
BURN THAT SHIRT (FOR NOW)
Orediggers fans have quickly gotten acquainted with freshman Kasen Lehman over the last three weeks as the Castle Rock native has announced his arrival with authority. Since debuting against Chadron State on January 8, Lehman has scored 20 or more points twice and gone for double figures off the bench in four of six games. He's averaging 13.5 PPG at the moment and is shooting .556 from the floor and .429 from deep with seven steals and four assists in just about 20 minutes a night off the bench. Given new redshirt rules across Division II this season, Lehman is rapidly approaching the cutoff for being able to retain this season, but given his performance since the start of the year, he's seemingly launched himself into the conversation to be a rotation regular for the rest of the season, even if Markus Pastorcic-Straun is able to return from injury before season's end.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Alex Romack's double-double streak came to an end last Thursday at Regis as he scored just six points while hauling in 11 rebounds, but came right back Saturday with perhaps the start of a new streak as he went for 13 and 11 in his 13th double-double of the season. Coming into the season, Romack had just eight double-doubles in his career with six of those coming in his RMAC Freshman of the Year campaign in the 2023-24 season. Looking back through the years, the most double-doubles by an individual in a season in the last 13 years came courtesy of Trevor Wages with 14 in the 2013-14 season. In fact since the year 2000, there have just been three seasons with 10 or more double-doubles by an Oredigger, as Wages recorded 12 in the 2012-13 season. And for more context as to what Romack has been doing this season, over the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, Mines had a combined 13 double-doubles as a team and in the two seasons before that, combined for just 10 total double-doubles. Now having accomplished the feat 20 times in his career, Romack will look to continue to cement his place as one of the top post players in school history with his prolific ability to score and clean up the glass.
 
BLOCK PARTY
Opposing teams have driven in the paint against the Orediggers at their own peril this season, and the numbers prove it. A team with significant length and athleticism inside defensively, Mines leads the RMAC with 87 blocked shots and are among the top teams in Division II in rejections. Leading the effort have been the big men Jonathan Moore and Alex Romack, with 28 and 19 blocks respectively. Moore ranks second in the RMAC in rejections, with Romack close behind in a tie for fourth. Will Cordonnier and Derek Lamb have also led things defensively inside off the bench with nine and eight blocks respectively. In fact, 11 of the 14 Orediggers who have suited up this season have recorded at least one block, while nine have at least a pair to their credit.
 
FROM DOWNTOWN
Mines also finds themselves tops in the RMAC as a team with 193 field goals of the three-point variety and with good reason. Eight Orediggers have made 10 or more treys this season, lead by freshman Shelton Henton's 52. In fact, Henton ranks third in the RMAC in three-pointers while his .426 shooting rate from deep is good for seventh. Jonathan Moore follows with 27 ahead of Kellon Johnson with 20 and Braydon Jacob with 19. Markus Pastorcic-Straun had 16 triples before his injury while Kasen Lehman has 18, Cooper Mroczek has 17, and Will Cordonnier has 11. If Mines wants to make keep noise in the second half of the season in the RMAC, they'll need to keep up their three-point shooting prowess over the final month of the season.
 
GLASS CLEANERS
This season, no one in the RMAC has been better than the Orediggers on the glass and it hasn't been close. In 21 games, the Orediggers lead the RMAC with 808 total rebounds and are third in rebounding average at 38.5. They also lead the RMAC with 280 offensive rebounds and are second in the RMAC with 13.6 offensive boards per game. In fact, just 10 teams nationally have more total offensive rebounds than Mines, who ranks in the top 30 nationally on the offensive glass.
 
BUTKOVICH INDUCTED TO MINES HOF
The first All-American in program history, Joe Butkovich was inducted earlier this fall to the Harry D. Campbell Mines Hall of Fame. A prolific scorer and rebounder in the post, Butkovich was named an all-American as a senior in 1971-72, the Orediggers' first national honoree. Upon the conclusion of his career, Butkovich was Mines' all-time rebounding leader with 891 and third on Mines' all-time scoring list with 1,641 points. More than 50 years after graduating, he still owns Mines' career and season per-game rebounding records of 11.7 and 12.3 (1970-71) rebounds per game, respectively, and he also set the record (since broken) for season scoring average with 24.9 points per game in 1971-72; today he ranks third in that category. That senior season saw him lead the RMAC in scoring and rank among the NCAA and NAIA national leaders in both scoring and rebounding, and his top individual games were a 37-point night against Western New Mexico (the Mines single-game record at the time) and 20 rebounds against UMKC. 

Butkovich earned his degree in engineering from Mines in 1972. His post-collegiate basketball career included tryouts with the Denver Nuggets and Chicago Bulls, and he played professionally in France and Belgium before returning stateside to work as an engineer, spending much of his career dismantling chemical weapons across the United States. 
 
CHECKING THE STATS
Kasen Lehman has been more than a welcome addition to the rotation in 2026 as he enters the weekend scoring 13.5 PPG on .556 shooting from the floor and .429 from long range thanks to 18 three-pointers. Alex Romack is very nearly averaging a double-double on the season with 13.2 PPG and 9.3 RPG while shooting .545 with 45 assists, 23 steals and 19 blocks. Jonathan Moore is scoring 11.9 PPG with 5.9 RPG while posting a line of .466/.482/.894 with 27 three's, 26 assists and 28 blocks. Shelton Henton is now averaging double figures thanks to his recent run at 10.0 PPG and is shooting .421/.426/.828 on the year with 36 dimes and 12 steals.
 
Kellon Johnson continues to be a steady contributor at 7.7 PPG on .473 shooting with 35 assists, 18 steals and five blocks. Cooper Mroczek has enjoyed a second wind of sorts in recent weeks and is scoring 5.6 PPG on .425 shooting from the floor with 19 assists and seven steals. Trent Minter is up to 70 dimes in the season along with 19 steals and seven blocks while scoring 5.2 PPG with 4.2 RPG on .406 shooting.
 
Collectively, the Orediggers average 78.8 PPG and are +3.9 in scoring margin while shooting .449/.349/.696 compared to .450/.332/.707 by the opposition. They are +4.8 in rebounding margin at 38.5 RPG and dish out 16.8 APG. Turnovers have improved as the season has gone on, as Mines turns it over now 12.9 times per game but is still -2.1 in TO margin while scoring 12.1 PPG off turnovers. Defensively, Mines averages 6.7 steals and 4.1 blocks per game.
 
SCOUTING FORT LEWIS
The RMAC-leading Skyhawks enter the week on a seven-game winning streak, not having lost since an 87-61 loss to then #14 St. Edward's back on December 16. In the new year, FLC is unbeaten but has had their hands full in the resumption of RMAC play, needing overtime to beat Westminster at home while having a trio of wins by six points or less since January 15. Last weekend then posted 73-56 and 90-84 home wins over Colorado Christian and UCCS.
 
Stewart Erhart leads three Skyhawks averaging double figure scoring at 17.2 PPG on .418/.400/.821 shooting while leading the team with 48 assists and 52 steals to go with 4.7 RPG. Jaxon Smith follows at 15.9 PPG having done most of his damage this season from long range, shooting .408 from three with 51 of his 75 field goals being of the three-point variety while being extremely proficient from the free throw line, shooting .933 and missing just five of 75 attempts. Big man Chuol Deng rounds out the trio at 13.9 PPG and leads FLC in rebounding at 8.1 per night while recording 10 blocks and shooting .428.
 
Yorgio Golesis hasn't played since December but if her returns, brings some firepower with 8.9 PPG on .382 shooting, while Donald Bangham Jr. is chipping in 7.3 per night off the bench on .436 shooting with 16 steals. Big men Keither Florence and Massal Diouf have been forces to reckon with inside, recording 11 and 14 blocks respectively while scoring 7.1 and 6.8 PPG with 4.3 and 3.9 RPG and shooting north of .500 on the season. Freshman Trey Curry, a prep teammate of Shelton Henton, debuted this semester and in six games is scoring 6.8  PPG on .484 shooting with 4.0 RPG and has nine steals. Cassius Carmichael is coming off a record 11-steal game last week and has 39 on the season while scoring 5.3 PPG and pulling 4.9 RPG while shooting .552.
 
On the season, Fort Lewis averages 81.9 PPG but is just +1.9 in scoring margin. They have shot .448/.333/.708 on the season compared to .415/.333/.749 by opponents and are +2.2 in rebounding margin at 39.0 RPG. FLC dishes out 12.7 assists per game and turns the ball over at a rate of 16.4 times per night for a +1.4 TO margin while scoring 18.9 PPG off turnovers. Defensively one of the most active teams in the RMAC, the Skyhawks average 11.2 steals and 2.6 blocks per game.
 
SCOUTING ADAMS STATE
Adams State snapped a two-game skid with a 94-80 home win last weekend over Colorado Christian after being bested on the road at South Dakota Mines and CSU Pueblo at home. Those loses broke up a four-game winning streak for the Grizzlies dating back to December 19, as they look to start anew and will host Regis Thursday before taking on Mines Saturday.
 
Adams State has five players averaging better than 10.0 PPG including four of five starters. Luke Williams leads the charge at 14.8 PPG on .448 shooting and is tops on the team with 64 assists and 32 steals. Wyatt Helming is next at 14.5 PPG on .511/.420/.789 shooting with a team-best 22 blocks and 7.7 RPG and is second with 34 three-pointers. Emilek Jallow nets 11.0 PPG off the bench on .500 shooting with 4.1 RPG and 18 blocks of his own. Dillan Baker checks in at 10.8 PPG on .411/.320/.806 shooting with 31 three-pointers, 27 assists and 20 steals. Jarmell Johnson rounds out the group with 10.3 PPG and 2.8 RPG while shooting .409 from the floor with 14 steals.
 
Jayce King adds 8.1 PPG off the bench and does most of his work from deep, shooting .457 from three with 37 of his 46 field goals being of the three-point variety. Jaylen Alexander rounds out the regulars when it comes to scoring at 7.4 PPG with 31 assists and 21 steals, as production dips sharply behind him. Jerrick Guidry (3.7 PPG, .520 FG%, 30 AST), Ivan Dorn Jr. (3.6 PPG, .521 FG%, 13 BLK), Tajuan Jamestown (2.6 PPG, .360 FG%, 11 STL) and Chaz Holman (1.9 PPG, .303 FG%, 8 STL) all figure to see some time as well, but are known more for their work on the defensive end.
 
The second-ranked scoring offense in the RMAC, ASU averages 85.0 PPG but has the third-worst scoring defense as they give up 84.7 PPG. The Grizzlies have shot .454/.329/.683 this season while opponents have posted a line of .440/.355/.690 and are -3.2 in rebounding margin at 38.1 RPG. Adams State dishes out 15.4 APG and turns it over 16.0 times per game and are +0.9 in TO margin while scoring 19.1 PPG off turnovers. Defensively they average 9.7 steals and 4.2 blocks per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Fort Lewis leads the all-time series with Mines 60-40 and is 31-18 when playing in Durango. Last season, the teams met just once in Golden with the Orediggers coming out ahead with an 82-79 win after trailing by seven at halftime. The last meeting in Durango came in the 2023-24 season and resulted in a 73-63 Skyhawks win.
 
Back in December, Mines took the first meeting of the season against Adams State by a final of 97-87 to extend their winning streak in the series to 14 games. All-time, ASU leads the series 90-80 with a mark of 53-26 in Alamosa. In last season's trip to Plachy Hall, the Orediggers battled to an 84-79 win. The last time the Grizzlies won in the series was in Alamosa all the way back in January of 2018 by a score of 60-54.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
As the calendar turns to February, Mines returns to Lockridge Arena for two games next weekend against Western Colorado on February 5 at 7:30 p.m. and the second of two meetings this season with Westminster Saturday at 3 p.m. Thursday night will be Professor Appreciation Night while Saturday will be a 'Green Game' benefitting the Mines Student Emergency Fund.
 
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.