WEEK 8 RECAP
Mines moved to 6-0 in league play and ran their current winning streak to four games on the road last weekend with 76-61 and 72-57 wins at Chadron State and South Dakota Mines.
 
Thursday against the Eagles, Majok Deng led the way with 17 points including a perfect 7-7 night at the line and was joined in double figures by Riley Schroeder. Grant Pressly added a season-high nine points and another six assists along with three steals while Jonathan Moore, Alex Romack and Reagan Kock all had eight.
 
Saturday in Rapid City, it was a back-and-forth kind of game early before Mines finally went ahead and stayed ahead late in the first half. Schroeder led the effort with 15 points on 5-9 shooting and 3-6 from three with five boards and three dimes while Adam Krasovec had his best outing of the season, dropping 14 on 6-8 shooting while Markus Pastorcic-Straun added 12 off the bench on 5-8 from the floor. Koch and Pressly both had big days on the glass, hauling in eight rebounds each and combing for five assists.
 
FOR ALL TIME
Currently in his 24th season leading the Orediggers, head coach Pryor Orser has seen a thing or two and is subsequently no stranger to milestone moments and record-setting success. On January 20 of last season, the legendary coach added another to his list of accomplishments, becoming the winningest coach in terms of conference wins in the history of the RMAC with 310 and counting. Just weeks later in February, Orser broke another conference record, this time for the most overall wins by a head coach in league history with a 74-56 win over Chadron State, giving him 442 for his career to again pass the great Bob Hofman who made a mark on RMAC history at Fort Lewis and Western Colorado over his 24 seasons between the two institutions. With seemingly no plans to hang it up anytime soon and enjoying another successful season this year, Orser has the potential to set a record that could stand for just as long, if not longer, than the previous mark as another point on an already remarkable resume in a coaching career matched by only a few.
 
RMAC RESET
Mines and MSU Denver remain 1-2 atop the RMAC standings at 6-0 followed by the 4-2 trio of UCCS, Black Hills State and Regis. Four teams are 3-3 heading into week four of conference action as Westminster, Fort Lewis, CSU Pueblo and Colorado Christian will look to start separating themselves from one another. Colorado Mesa knocked off Western Colorado 64-63 Tuesday night as those teams now both stand at 3-4 followed by Chadron State at 2-4. Adams State and South Dakota Mines are both 1-5 with 0-6 New Mexico Highlands bringing up the rear.
 
LEAGUE LEADERS
Surveying the RMAC leaderboards, several Orediggers find themselves at or near the top of the league in several categories. Majok Deng is tied for fourth in the conference in scoring at 15.7 PPG and is 11th in field goals with 70 made this season. Juani Dassie leads the RMAC in three-point percentage at .493 and is third in three-point field goals with 36. Grant Pressly meanwhile is third in the conference in assists with 54 while Cade Mankle is 11th with 42. That duo is also first and fifth in assist/turnover ratio at 3.9 and 1.8 respectively. Jonathan Moore is tied for seventh in the RMAC in blocked shots with 13 as sophomore running mate Markus Pastorcic-Straun jis ust outside the top 10 in the conference in both assists and steals.
 
As a team, Mines is second in the RMAC in scoring at 84.3 PPG, trailing only Adams State and is one of just four teams scoring more than 80 per game while defensively they rank second in scoring at 67.4 PPG. The Orediggers are third in the league with a .499 field goal percentage, second with a .387 three-point percentage and tops with 144 three-pointers made while ranking sixth and fourth respectively in opponent field goal and opponent three-point percentage. Mines is also fourth in the RMAC in rebounding average and sixth in total rebounds while showcasing their ability on the offensive glass, ranking fourth in offensive boards. They also lead the league in assist/turnover ratio at 1.53 thanks to a league-leading 277 assists against 181 turnovers. The only team with 250 or more assists in the RMAC this season, the Orediggers are also tied for fifth in blocked shots with 45 and are the fourth of five teams with 100 or more steals at 108.
 
NATIONAL STATS
The Orediggers can find themselves in several places among the national statistical leaders as team this season. Currently, Mines is fifth in the country in assists per game at 19.8 and fourth nationally in bench points at 40.9 PPG. Their 16.9 scoring margin is good for ninth and their 10.3 three-pointers per game is enough for 17th. The Orediggers are also 18th in assist/turnover ratio at 1.53 and now 20th nationally in field goal percentage at 49.9% and 14th in three-point percentage at 38.7%.
 
MILESTONE MEN
Majok Deng is now on the plus side of 100 three-point field goals in his collegiate career with 119 as well as 215 rebounds and is up to 854 points, with 787 of those coming at Mines. Reagan Koch is 18 points shy of 400 in his career and 26 rebounds from 200 and is up to 60 steals. Adam Krasovec needs one more field goals for 250 in his career as he also stands with 343 rebounds, 97 assists and 37 steals.
 
Cade Mankle eclipsed 500 points in his Mines tenure last Thursday and has 178 rebounds and assists along with 199 field goals and 42 steals. Grant Pressly is on the plus side of 100 career points and is four assists away from 150 in his career and went over 150 rebounds last Thursday as well, while eight more steals will net him 50. Riley Schroeder blew past the 800-point mark in his career Thursday as well and depending how the rest of the season goes, 1,000 may still be in a possibility. He also carries 362 rebounds, 142 assists, 56 blocks and 54 steals.
 
GETTING THAT SILVER
Grant Pressly and Reagan Koch each completed their undergraduate degrees in May and collected their silver-plated diplomas as they walked across the stage and are back for more as both have begun graduate programs. Pressly, a fifth-year man out of Plano, Texas earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Engineering and Management Science while Koch needed just three years to graduate with a degree in in Mechanical Engineering. Both men are currently pursuing graduate degrees in Engineering and Technology Management.
 
CHECKING THE STATS
It was an interesting weekend on the stat sheet as different individuals highlighted the winning efforts on the road each time out and as a result, season averages and totals have seen quite the shuffle. Majok Deng still leads the way in scoring at 15.7 PPG on .43/.356/.900 shooting with 4.1 RPG and 11 steals to his ledger. Riley Schroeder is now up to 12.1 PPG on .527/.451/.800 this season with 3.0 RPG, 26 assists, six steals and six blocks.
 
The sophomore duo of Markus Pastorcic-Straun and Alex Romack are both averaging 9.9 PPG. The former leads the team in steals with 16 and shooting .517 from the floor and .767 at the line while amassing 40 assists, while the latter leads the team in rebounding at 4.8 RPG and is near the top in field goal percentage at .610 while also adding 17 assists, 10 steals and nine blocks.
 
Juani Dassie will look to bounce back from an uncharacteristically quiet weekend as he enters the week shooting .535 from the floor and .493 from three with nine steals and six blocks. Cade Mankle and Reagan Koch both check in this week at 6.4 PPG with 42 and 27 assists respectively. Mankel is shooting .440 from the field and has 13 steals, while Koch is shooting .433 from the floor and .405 from three with 12 steals of his own.
 
Jonathan Moore (5.4 PPG, .633 FG%, 3.7 RPG) leads the team with 13 blocked shots while Grant Pressly (3.2 PPG, .565 FG%, 13 STL) has a team-best 54 assists. Adam Krasovec (4.8 PPG, .476 FG%) will look to keep building momentum following his big day Saturday and looks to add onto five steals and three blocks this season.
 
As a team, Mines is averaging 84.3 PPG and is +16.9 in scoring margin. They are shooting .499/.387/.755 while opponents have shot just .427/.324/.691. The Orediggers average 36.7 RPG and are +6.7 in rebounding margin and now average 19.8 assists per contest. Mines turns the ball 12.9 times per night and is +0.7 in TO margin but has an assist/turnover ratio of 1.5 and scores over 17 PPG off turnovers. Defensively, they average 7.7 steals and 3.2 blocks per game.
 
SCOUTING CSU PUEBLO
The ThunderWolves enter the week on a four-game losing streak and in search of their first win since a 68-58 decision over South Dakota Mines on December 14. They dropped both ends of RMAC play last week to Colorado Christian 83-72 at home and to UCCS 82-60 on the road. Prior to that, their trip to the Hoops in Hawai’i Holiday Classic, they dropped both their games to Alaska Anchorage and Hawai’i Pacifici 73-52 and 80-66.
 
Second-year SDMST transfer Brevin Walter leads CSUP in scoring at 11.7 PPG and is shooting .377/.290/.840 this season and is tied for the team lead with 34 assists to go with 3.0 rebounds per game. De’Shaun Cooper is shooting .657 and is second on the team in scoring at 11.5 PPG while leading the team in rebounding at 6.5 per night and blocks with 11 along with 26 assists and eight steals. Armon Muldrew follows at 11.3 PPG with a .410/.292/.789 shooting line and 3.3 rebounds per game and is tired with Walter for the team lead in assists. Corbin Garver is also scoring 10.0 PPG, but has been out of action since early November and appeared in just two games this season.
 
Jaden Kennis checks in at 7.8 PPG and leads the team in steals with 12 in addition to 25 assists and 4.6 RPG while shooting .373 from the floor and .300 from three in mostly a reserve role. Jake Lafferty is scoring 7.4 points with 4.2 rebounds per contest on .554 shooting while Victor Lado has 10 blocks off the bench and scores 6.9 per game on .609 shooting.
 
Denim Johnson (6.2 PPG, .565 FG%, 9 STL) is second on the team with 31 assists but also leads the team with 37 turnovers while Kesean Bazile (4.8 PPG, .358 FG%, 9 STL) and Sam Howery (1.7 PPG, .529 FG%, 6 STL) have 18 and 15 assists respectively.
 
For the season, CSU Pueblo is scoring 73.6 PPG and is +6.5 in scoring margin. As a team, they shoot .465/.310/.708 while opponents have shot .405/.282/.700. They collect 37.9 rebounds per game and are +3.7 in rebounding margin and dish out 15.4 assists per contest. The Pack turn the ball over 12.1 times per game and are just about level in turnover margin at -0.5 while defensively they collect 5.5 steals and register 2.1 blocks per game.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO CHRISTIAN
The Cougars will square off with MSU Denver Thursday night before heading up Highway 6 to Golden Saturday. After ending 2024 on a three-game losing streak, CCU has won two of three to open the new year with a 77-56 win over Northern New Mexico and an 83-72 win over CSU Pueblo with a midweek loss to UCCS by a score of 84-59 in between.
 
Bradley Land is the lone man averaging double figure scoring for the Cougars at 14.9 PPG on .551/.480/.791 shooting and also leads the team in rebounding at 5.5 per night along with having 25 assists, 10 steals and six blocks. Schafer Reichart, who had the game of his career in the upset of Mines in Lakewood last season, is scoring 7.9 PPG on .466 shooting and is tops on the team with 48 assists and 16 steals. Shaylen Woodberry is also scoring 7.9 PPG on .542/.556/.786 shooting and is leads CCU in three-point shooting.
 
CJ Barnes averages 7.1 PPG on .600 shooting with five blocks while Tate Odvody scores 6.6 per game as a .518 shooter with 16 dimes and nine steals. Bobby McWard is also a three-pointer threat, as while he only averages 6.4 PPG, 17 of his 25 field goals this season have come from long range.
 
Promise Idiaru (6.0 PPG, .471 FG%, 3.8 RPG) leads the team with 13 blocks having split time between the bench and starting rotation this season, while Jacob Everson (5.0 PPG, .328 FG%) and Ezra Guest are worth watching as well, combing for 31 assists and 11 steals between them.
 
On the year, Colorado Christian average 70.8 PPG and is +0.9 in scoring margin. They shoot .493/.376/.716 as a team while opponents have gone .462/.398/.692. They collect 31.7 rebounds per game and are +4.8 in rebounding margin while averaging 13.4 assists per game. CCU turns it over 14.1 times per game and is -2.6 in TO margin while defensively they force 5.9 steals and recording 2.6 blocks per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines will continue to work to leveling the all-time series with CSU Pueblo Thursday night as they trail 31-36. Winners of the last nine games in the series, the Orediggers are 17-14 all-time when playing at home in the series. Last season’s single meeting was an 85-79 overtime thriller in Pueblo and prior to that, the teams met in Golden where Mines posted a 97-62 win. Mines last lost in the series in 2018 in Golden by a score of 83-79.
 
The Orediggers will look to start anew against the Cougars as their 17-game winning streak was dashed by an 83-81 loss in Lakewood last February in a game that was postponed to February 26 from February 23 as a result of a CCU player shattering a backboard in pregame warmups. The first meeting between the teams last season was January 6 in Golden and resulted in an 88-72 Mines win. All-time, Mines is 39-14 against Colorado Christian and 20-7 when playing in Golden. The last time the Orediggers last at home was March of 2013 by a score of 84-76.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
A Top 25 showdown await next Thursday at Lockridge Arena as MSU Denver makes the trip to Golden before the Orediggers make the short trip down I-70 to take on Regis Saturday afternoon.

#12/6 Mines (12-2, 6-0) vs. CSU Pueblo (8-6, 3-3) – Thursday, 7:30 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#12/6 Mines (12-2, 6-0) vs. Colorado Christian (7-7, 3-3) – Saturday, 3 p.m. – Golden, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

 
BACK AT HOME
The #12/6 Colorado School of Mines men’s basketball team opens a stretch with five of their next six games at Lockridge Arena this week as Thursday night they welcome CSU Pueblo to town followed by Colorado Christian Saturday for week four of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
This week’s games will be streamed free of charge on the RMAC Network. Free live stats will also be available. Links for video and stats can be found on minesathletics.com.
 
TICKETS PLEASE!
Mines Athletics has launched a new online ticketing platform in collaboration with Vivenu. The new portal will be a one-stop hub for fans to purchase tickets and get game day information, while also making it easier to find and get seats to all Oredigger athletic events. Click here to learn more about the ticketing system, how it works and to purchase your tickets for this weekend’s games and beyond. Mines faculty, staff, and students still get free general admission tickets to every home sporting event (one per student and up to four per employee). Tapping BlasterCards at the gate will no longer work and tickets must be reserved in advance. Fans can still purchase tickets on game day at the venue with cash or credit cards just as before. Friends and family on the pass list and All-Sport Pass and RMAC Pass holders should continue to go to the ticket office as normal to obtain their complimentary tickets. No advance purchase is required.
 
AT THE HELM
The 2024-25 season will be the 24th 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 457-229 overall and a mark of 323-155 in league play. Under Orser, Mines has won five RMAC regular-season championships and two RMAC Tournament titles and qualified for 13 NCAA Tournaments including two Elite Eight trips. 
 
IN THE POLLS
The Orediggers were tabbed the preseason favorites to win the RMAC this season, earning 11 of 14 first place ballots and compiling 191 points. MSU Denver was picked to finish second followed by Regis, Black Hills State and Colorado Mesa.
 
A new number one headlines the Top 25 this week as following Nova Southeastern’s first loss of the season, Washburn ascended to the top spot followed by Daemen. NSU dropped to third while Ferris State and Alabama Huntsville each moved up one spot to round out the top five this week. Last week’s #4 Minot State dropped all the way to 14th this week following their first two losses of the season to Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State. MSU Denver jumped up three spots to #19 this week as the only other RMAC team in national consideration.
 
In the media poll, Washburn also ascended to the top spot while NSU dropped just one spot down to second. Ferris State and Daemen remained third and fourth while Alabama Huntsville moved to fifth. MSU Denver entered at #17 after earning votes last week.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.
By: Patrick Murphy