Seeking their fifth straight win since the heartbreaking loss to Metro State, the Orediggers looked to keep building up momentum with a win over the RMAC’s worst team, the Western New Mexico Mustangs. As one would expect, the 11th ranked Mines squad easily dismantled the one-win Mustangs by a wide margin, 90-58.
CSM opened the game strong, building up a 17-11 lead just over six minutes into the contest, but the Mustangs showed a bit of resilience and hit consecutive three pointers to bring the score back within one. However, that is as close as they would manage to get, as the Oredigger offense opened up the rest of the half. Leading by as much as 27 at one point, Mines built up a substantial 49-27 lead by the end of the period.
The second half saw a bit more competitiveness from WNM, but Mines was still able to prevail and edge the Mustangs in scoring by 10 in the half. When all was said and done, the Orediggers left Silver City, New Mexico with a 90-58 victory.
Brett Green led all scorers with 20 points on the night, with Will Carr adding 15 and Trevor Ritchie contributing 12. Trevor Wages posted a double-double in the game, notching 15 points to go with 10 rebounds. In total, eight Orediggers put up at least six points in the game, making for one of the more balanced offensive attacks CSM has had this season.
The stat sheet reflected the one-sidedness of the game, as Mines surpassed the Mustangs in every major category, and mostly by a wide margin. The Orediggers outshot WNM 54.8% to 40%, including a 40% to 30% edge from beyond the three point arc, as well as doubling the Mustangs in rebounds collected (46 to 23).
Mines will have one more game before the regular season comes to a close, a match-up on the road against Colorado Christian in Lakewood. That game tips off at 7pm next Saturday, March 1st, and will be the last game before the Orediggers begin preparation for the RMAC tournament, which begins March 4th.