GOLDEN, Colo. – Thanks in part to a blistering three-point shooting performance by freshman Shelton Henton, the Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team resumed Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action Thursday night at Lockridge Arena with a 74-60 win over Chadron State. Henton connected nine-times from long range to lead the Orediggers (7-9, 3-2) to their 33rd consecutive win over the Eagles (2-11, 0-5) as one of three players to finish in double figures.
 
It was a bit of a disjointed start to the night for both offenses as Henton scored the first nine points for Mines while Blessing Adesipe connected on a three to make it 9-3 at the first media timeout at 14:18. After the combined 4-15 start to the night shooting the ball, the teams settled in and near the midway mark in the opening half, an 8-0 run by the Eagles fueled by three Mines turnovers saw CSC close to within one at 14-13. After an Oredigger timeout, a dunk by Alex Romack from Trent Minter provided a brief reprieve before Chadron State took the lead on a three from Adesipe following an Isaiah Sampson layup to make it 18-16 with 7:55 to go. Mines remained composed and kept the deficit from spiraling, tying things back up at 26 on Henton's sixth three-pointer of the night at 3:21 before retaking the lead for good on his seventh on the next possession. Kasen Lehman followed with his first career three-ball after a layup by Jadon Cool before Cool and Henton exchanged treys to end the half with the Orediggers up 35-31.
 
Jonathan Moore kicked off the second half with his first three of the night, but Chadron State refused to go away as they kept it a two to three possession game for the opening 4:51 of the half. Henton's ninth three-pointer keyed off a 7-0 run that swelled the lead to 11 at 50-39 with 13 minutes left. Mack Keighran did his best to keep CSC in striking distance, but without help from his teammates, the Orediggers continued to build their lead. A 13-4 run highlighted by Lehman, Minter, Moore, Romack and Kellon Johnson was the backbreaker as the gap stretched to 18 at 63-45 with just under seven minutes to play. The Eagles briefly closed to within 10 on two occasions down the stretch, but no further as the big men Moore and Romack closed things out in the 74-60 victory.
 
NOTABLES
-Henton erupted for a season-high 27 points coming on 9-18 shooting from three-point land with six assists; He had eight triples in the first half and finished one shy of the single-game record of 10 set by Mike Ziegler against Denver in 1988-89
-Romack recorded his ninth double-double of the season behind 17 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 5-7 from the floor and 7-9 at the line along with four assists and a steal
-Moore ended with 12 points, four rebounds, a career-high four blocks and three assists
-Minter had a productive night across the board, finishing with seven points, six rebounds, nine assists and two steals
-Lehman posted six off the bench in his collegiate debut on 2-5 shooting while adding two rebounds, a steal and an assist in 18 minutes
-Mines shot a season-high 38 three-pointers in the win, tying their season-high mark from November 25 at Colorado College and finished the night 14-38 (.368)
-The Orediggers finished +14 on the glass at 41-27 and hauled in another 14 offensive rebounds
-Mines recorded 22 assists on 23 made field goals in the game as well
 
UP NEXT
Mines welcomes the Hardrockers of South Dakota Mines Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.

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.