After just falling short of pulling the upset over No. 1 Metro State on Friday night, the Mines men’s basketball team looked to rebound on Saturday evening against Regis. The Orediggers did just that, and in strong fashion as they defeated the Rangers 83-58.
CSM opened the game on a roll, scoring the game’s first eight points and eventually building up a 14-2 lead over the Rangers. Despite falling so far behind so quickly, though, Regis put together a strong end to the first half, pulling within two at one point and only down 28-34 headed to the locker rooms.
Any momentum Regis had built up seemed to disappear over the break, as Mines came out scoring points in bunches in the second half. The Orediggers hit seven of their first eight shots in the second period, racing out to a 47-31 lead before five minutes had even passed in the half. CSM’s defense was completely overwhelming the Rangers at this point in the contest, with Mines putting up another dozen points to take a 59-31 lead before Regis was finally able to make a shot. By then, the outcome of the game had pretty much been decided barring a miracle from the Rangers. That miracle never turned to reality, and the Orediggers coasted to the 83-58 victory.
Four of CSM’s five starters reached double digit scoring in the contest, including Brian Muller’s 19 points to lead all scorers. Luke Meisch added Trevor Wages added 13 each and Brett Green contributed 14. The Orediggers easily outshot the Rangers 52.5% to 37.5% (including a 47.1% to 30.4% edge beyond the three point arc), and outrebounded them 35-28. Mines was also able to limit their mistakes, committing both fewer turnovers and fewer personal fouls than Regis.
The eleventh ranked Orediggers (18-3, 14-3 RMAC) will remain here in Golden next weekend as they host Black Hills State on Valentine’s Day and Chadron State on Saturday the 15. The BHSU contest on Friday tips off at 8pm in Lockridge Arena, while Saturday’s game against Chadron tips off at 7pm. Saturday’s game is also Senior Day and the final home contest of the season for the Oredigger basketball team.