COLORADO MINES MEN'S BASKETBALL
Game Notes - Week #10
at Fort Hays State, 1/31/03 - Hays, Kan., 8:00 pm
at Nebraska-Kearney, 2/1/03 - Kearney, Neb., 8:00 pm

PROBABLE STARTERS
No. Name Pos. PPG RPG APG FG%
10 Kevin Wagstaff G 9.0 2.9 4.1 .423
11 Stephen Bahl G 24.4 1.1 2.1 .498
20 Matt Luedtke G 14.6 4.9 2.9 .420
44 Farris Broussard F 5.1 6.2 1.8 .682
55 Mike McNish C 12.6 6.9 1.7 .686

OFF THE BENCH
No. Name Pos. PPG RPG APG FG%
3 Cole Henderson G/F 0.8 0.4 0.6 .667
5 Chad Friehauf G 4.6 3.8 1.4 .319
23 Ross Rhinehart G 3.3 0.8 1.1 .488
30 Justin Buckmaster F 5.5 3.6 1.2 .530
31 Bill Hadley G 0.0 0.3 0.0 .000
52 Ryan Woodson C 7.4 4.6 1.1 .484

THE HEAD COACH
Pryor Orser is in his second season at the helm of the Oredigger men’s basketball program. He claims a 20-23 overall mark and a 12-16 record in the RMAC during his time in Golden. Prior to coming to CSM, Orser served one year as the assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of Montana in Missoula. Orser’s previous coaching experience also includes a four-year tenure at Northwest College in Wyo., where he worked as the head of the women’s basketball program and an assistant to the men’s basketball program, At Northwest, Orser led the women’s squad to the most wins in school history (22) during his fourth and final season, an improvement of 20 games from his first season on the sideline at Northwest.

LAST TIME OUT (1/23/03): Colorado Mines sophomore guard Stephen Bahl tallied 30 points as the Oredigger men’s basketball team set a school-record with its 11th consecutive victory in a 77-70 win over Regis in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action Thursday night in Volk Gymnasium. Mines raced out to a 21-8 lead midway through the first half, only to see the Rangers cut their deficit to four points, 39-35, at the break. Regis came out and began the second half on a 9-4 run to claim its first lead of the game since the 19:06 mark of the first half on a jumper from Casey Fisher with 15:56 to play. The score would be tied eight more times over the next nine minutes of action until a jumper from CSM senior center Mike McNish gave Mines a 62-61 lead with five minutes to play. Mines would lead the rest of the way. Bahl scored his 30 points on 8-of-15 shooting and 11-of-14 from the free throw line, while sophomore guard Matt Luedtke chipped in with 13 points, four boards and three steals.

HE’S A BALLER: Sophomore guard Stephen Bahl has lived up to his name this season as the Broomfield, Colo., native is leading the RMAC and is ninth in the nation with 24.4 points per game. In addition, he has scored in double figures in all 17 games this season, including a career-high 43 points in a 77-69 victory over Augustana on Nov. 30. Bahl, the RMAC East Division Player of the Week on Dec. 17, averaged 33.0 points per game in CSM’s two wins last week and is shooting 50 percent from the field, 48 percent from three-point range and 81 percent from the charity stripe. In last Tuesday’s 82-73 victory over Colorado Christian, Bahl scored 31 of his 36 points in the second half as CSM erased a 12-point halftime deficit to earn the win.

LEADER OF THE PACK: Sophomore guard Stephen Bahl is the only player in the RMAC that has topped the 400-point mark this season and his 415 points are 88 more than anyone else in the league. With his 66 points in two games last week, Bahl supassed the 700 point mark for his career and now has scored 713 points as an Oredigger in just under two seasons in Golden.

FIVE ALIVE: Mines is currently off to its best start in school history at 15-2 and has also attained its highest ranking in program history as the squad is currently the number five ranked team in the North Central Region. The new regional rankings will be released on Wednesday, Jan. 29. In addition, CSM received consideration in last week’s national top-25 poll.

DIAPER DIGGERS: The Colorado Mines roster contains just two seniors, both of whom were walk-ons to the program, and one junior. The other eight players are in either their first or second season with the program.

COMEBACK KIDS: In recent games, Mines has proved that it could fight back from large deficits. In a 66-59 win at Adams State on Jan. 17, CSM fought back from a 30-17 halftime deficit, while the Orediggers rebounded from a 39-27 halftime hole to defeat Colorado Christian, 82-73, on Jan. 21. Mines is 4-1 this season when it trails at the half.

BRING OUT THE BROOMS: For the first time in the history of the program, Colorado Mines swept the RMAC Western Division by going a perfect 7-0 this season. Mines was one of only two teams in the conference to accomplish that feat this season. Nebraska-Kearney (16-0), ranked fifth in the country, was the other.

DYNAMIC DUO: Sophomore guards Stephen Bahl and Matt Luedtke have formed one of the deadliest duos in the RMAC this season. Combined, Bahl (24.4 ppg) and Luedtke (14.6 ppg) are the top team duo in terms of scoring (39.0 ppg). In addition, Bahl and Luedtke have combined for 112 three-pointers with Bahl’s 59 trifectas second in the conference and Luedtke’s 53 hits are tied for third in the RMAC.

SWISH FOR MCNISH: Senior center Mike McNish has not missed much this season as he has connected on 81-of-118 shot attempts this season. His .686 field goal percentage ranks second in the conference and top-10 nationally.

ALL AROUND GUY: Sophomore guard Matt Luedtke has been a steady performer for Mines this season. A University of Montana transfer, Luedtke is second on the team in scoring (14.6 ppg) and assists (2.9 apg) and third on the squad in rebounding (4.9 rpg). In addition, he has recorded 26 steals and 10 blocked shots. In a 66-59 win at Adams State on Jan. 17, Luedtke grabbed a career-high 11 boards and dished out four assists. In Tuesday’s victory over Colorado Christian, he scored six points, had five rebounds and tied a career-best with six assists.

GRIDIRON TO THE HARDWOOD: Redshirt freshman guard Chad Friehauf has been a key performer for CSM since he concluded the 2002 football season as CSM’s quarterback. On the gridiron, he was an Honorable Mention All-RMAC honoree as he completed 173-of-280 passes for 2,197 yards and 21 touchdowns. In his first season with the Oredigger basketball team, Friehauf has played in all 17 games, including two starts, and is averaging 4.6 points 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

STREAKY: CSM is currently riding an 11-game winning steak, the longest winning streak ever in program history.

TIME FOR EVERYONE: The Orediggers have nine players who are averaging more than 10 minutes per game this season.

BEST IN D 2: CSM’s 15 wins in the most ever by the team as a Division II program. The Oredigger’s previous high win total as a Division II program was 14 wins in its inaugural DII season (1995-96). In addition, Mines is within reach of the school record for victories in a season (21) set by the 1980-81 team.

BLOCK PARTY: Mines is the top-ranked team in the RMAC in blocked shots with 80 swats in 15 games for an average of 5.3 per game. Senior center Mike McNish leads the way as he is ranked second in the conference with 1.6 blocks per game. Junior forward Farris Broussard is fourth (1.4 bpg), while senior forward Justin Buckmaster is tied for tenth (1.0 bpg). In the win at Adams State on Jan. 17, Mines blocked a season high 13 shots, including four each by McNish and Broussard.

CLOSE CALLS: One difference between this year’s squad and last year’s is their ability to pull out the close games. Last season, Mines was just 4-11 in games decided by 10 points or less, including 1-3 in overtime. This year, the Orediggers are 9-0 in games decided by 10 or less, 1-0 in overtime.

HOME SWEET HOME: CSM is a perfect 9-0 at home this season and is averaging 92.3 points per game in the confines of Volk Gymnasium. Mines has topped the 100-point mark on three occasions at home this year. Following two road games this weekend, CSM will return home for the next two weekends which will conclude its regular season home schedule.

THEN THERE WERE TWO: CSM is one of two undefeated teams in the RMAC heading into play this week. Mines and Kearney, ranked fifth in the nation, are both 9-0 in conference play this season. Saturday nights matchup in Kearney could pit the two teams undefeated, however, both will face tough opponents on Friday night with Mines playing at Fort Hays State and UNK hosting Colorado Christian.

SCOUTING THIS WEEK’S COMPETITION:
Fort Hays State enters the week at 14-3 overall and 6-3 in the RMAC following a split last weekend when it defeated Chadron State (90-80) and lost at Metro State (72-60). Melroy McKelvey led the way as he totaled 41 points and 13 rebounds. For the season, McKelvey leads the team in scoring (14.8 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 rpg), while Dominique Townes tallies 12.4 points and 3.5 boards per game. As a team, the Tigers are averaging 77.8 points per game and shooting 47 percent from the field, 37 percent from three-point land and 69 percent from the free throw line.

Nebraska-Kearney enters play this week as the only undefeated team in Division II at 16-0 overall and 9-0 in the RMAC. The Lopers ran its winning streak to 16 straight with wins at Metro State (80-64) and Chadron State (83-73) last week. Nick Svehla led the way with 37 points and 18 rebounds in the two games. For the season, Svehla is second in the conference in scoring (20.1 ppg) and sixth in rebounding (7.9 rpg) and Nick Branting posts 15.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per night. As a team, UNK leads the RMAC in scoring (90.2 ppg) and shoots 52 percent from the field, 41 percent from three-point land and 76 percent from the charity stripe.

LAST TIME VS. FORT HAYS STATE (2/16/02): FHSU outscored Mines, 37-25, in the second half to claim a 66-61 win in Golden, Colo. Aulston Martin led the Tigers with 15 points and four rebounds, while Farris Broussard scored 13 points and grabbed seven boards to lead Mines.

LAST TIME VS. KEARNEY (2/15/02): UNK erased a 28-24 halftime deficit and defeated Mines, 63-54, in Golden, Colo. Nick Svehla paced the Lopers with 17 points and seven rebounds and Farris Broussard notched a double-double for CSM with 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.