COLORADO MINES MEN'S BASKETBALL
Game Notes - Week #14
at Colorado Christian, 2/25/03 - Lakewood, Colo., 8:00 pm
at Regis, 3/1/03 - Denver, Colo., 1:00 pm

PROBABLE STARTERS
No. Name Pos. PPG RPG APG FG%
10 Kevin Wagstaff G 9.0 2.6 3.8 .405
11 Stephen Bahl G 22.9 1.2 2.0 .474
20 Matt Luedtke G 14.3 4.8 2.8 .422
44 Farris Broussard F 5.5 5.9 1.9 .671
55 Mike McNish C 11.3 6.5 1.5 .648

OFF THE BENCH
No. Name Pos. PPG RPG APG FG%
3 Cole Henderson G/F 0.6 0.5 0.7 .400
5 Chad Friehauf G 3.8 2.9 1.4 .300
23 Ross Rhinehart G 3.2 0.8 1.1 .443
30 Justin Buckmaster F 5.4 3.8 0.9 .564
31 Bill Hadley G 0.6 0.2 0.0 .250
52 Ryan Woodson C 6.2 4.5 1.0 .500

THE HEAD COACH
Pryor Orser is in his second season at the helm of the Oredigger men’s basketball program. He claims a 21-30 overall mark and a 13-23 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 (2/22/03): The Colorado Mines men’s basketball team fell to 16-9 overall and 10-7 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a 91-63 setback at seventh-ranked Metro State Saturday evening at the Auraria Events Center. Metro claimed a 41-24 lead at the half as Luke Kendall and Patrick Mutombo combined for 25 of the Roadrunner points. MSCD would extend its lead to as many as 30 points in the second half. Mines sophomore guard Stephen Bahl was the only Oredigger to register double figures as he scored 13 points. Senior center Mike McNish added nine points and a team-high seven rebounds, while junior forward Farris Broussard contributed eight points and four rebounds.

WHO’S A BALLER: When it comes to ball players in the RMAC, you need look no further than CSM sophomore guard Stephen Bahl. The Broomfield, Colo., native has led the RMAC in scoring since day one this season and is currently on top at 22.9 points per contest. He has scored in double figures in all 25 games this season, including a career-high 43 points in a 77-69 win over Augustana on Nov. 30. The only two-time RMAC East Player of the Week this season, Bahl is second in the league with 85 three-pointers and is averaging 2.0 assists and 1.2 boards per game.

LEADER OF THE PACK: Sophomore guard Stephen Bahl is closing in on 600 points for the season. He would be just the sixth player in CSM history to accomplish that feat. Heading into the final two regular season games this week, Bahl leads the RMAC with 572 points, 69 more than Nick Svehla of Nebraska-Kearney. In addition, Bahl has scored 870 points in just under two seasons in an Oredigger uniform.

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

NO LOVE IN FEBRUARY: The month of February has not been kind to the Mines men’s basketball team. Heading into the Valentine Month, the Oredigger’s stood at 15-3, however, the team is just 1-7 in February, including four losses by a combined 22 points. The one win? February 14, Valentine’s Day.

SWISH FOR MCNISH: Senior center Mike McNish has not missed much this season as he has connected on 107-of-165 shot attempts this season. His .648 field goal percentage is fourth in the RMAC. Over his four years at Mines, McNish is shooting better than 64 percent from the floor and has scored 899 points in his four seasons as an Oredigger.

WHAT THE HAYS?: The difference in CSMs match-ups with Fort Hays this season was the three-pointer. In a 78-72 loss at Hays on Jan. 31, Mines made just 9-of-42 three-point attempts. In an 87-71 win in Golden on Feb. 14, the Orediggers connected on 16-of-25 from beyond the arc. The 16 three-pointers were the third most for Mines this season, who made a season-high 19 trifectas against Western State (Dec. 12) and 18 three’s against Grandveiw (Nov. 26).

STAFF LEADER: Freshman point guard Kevin Wagstaff, an RMAC Freshman of the Year candidate, has been outstanding in leading the Oredigger offense this season. The Rampart High graduate is seventh in the RMAC with 3.8 assists per game and is also fourth on the team in scoring (9.0 ppg).

KEY FOR SUCCESS: Sophomore guard Matt Luedtke, a University of Montana transfer, has been an integral part to Mines’ success this season as he is second on the team in scoring (14.3 ppg) and assists (2.8 apg) and third in rebounding (4.8 rpg). Two weeks ago, Luedtke averaged 15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game as CSM split with Fort Hays and Nebraska-Kearney. Against, UNK, Luedtke posted his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 boards. Over the last six games, he is averaging 15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest.

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, which is ranked second 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 (22.9 ppg) and Luedtke (14.3 ppg) are the top team duo in terms of scoring (37.2 ppg). In addition, Bahl and Luedtke have combined for 165 three-pointers with Bahl’s 85 trifecta’s second in the conference and Luedtke’s 80 hits fourth in the RMAC.

SEVEN-ELEVEN: Seven of the 11 players on the CSM roster are Colorado natives. Only Matt Luedtke (Montana), Farris Broussard (California), Ryan Woodson (Arkansas) and Justin Buckmaster (Oregon) hail from outside the state.

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 9-5 in games decided by 10 or less, 1-0 in overtime.

BEST IN D 2: CSM’s 16 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). CSM needs five more wins this season to tie the school record of 21 wins in a season set by the 1980-81 squad.

BLOCK PARTY: Mines is the top-ranked team in the RMAC in blocked shots with 126 swats in 25 games for an average of 5.1 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 third (1.5 bpg), senior forward Justin Buckmaster is 13th (0.7 bpg) while sophomore guard Matt Luedtke ranks 15th in the conference with 0.6 blocked shots per game. In the win at Adams State on Jan. 17, Mines blocked a season high 13 shots, including four blocks each by McNish and Broussard.

HOME SWEET HOME: CSM ended its 2002-03 home campaign with a 10-3 record with its three losses by a combined six points. Mines lost by one on a buzzer beater to Chadron State, three points to Metro State and two points to Nebraska-Kearney. Last year, Mines was just 3-11 in Volk Gymnasium.

SCORE MORE: When Mines raced out to a 15-2 record to begin the season, it did so by scoring points. In those games, CSM averaged 85.4 points per game and topped the 100-point mark on three occasions. Since then, Mines is just 1-7 and is averaging 72.4 points per contest and has scored more than 80 just twice. The Orediggers are 11-1 this season when scoring at least 80 points with its first loss coming last Thursday (92-82) at Chadron State.

ALMOST IN: Mines has almost wrapped up its first RMAC Tournament berth since the 2000-01 season when it lost at Mesa State, 85-55, in the opening round. Nebraska-Kearney, Fort Lewis, Metro State and Fort Hays have already clinched berths, while Mines, Southern Colorado, Mesa State, Adams State and Chadron State are fighting for the final four spots. The easiest scenario for CSM to clinch a berth would be to win its final two games. However, the Orediggers could still get in the tournament if they lose one or both of their final games. Heading into the final two games, Mines and Southern Colorado are both 10-7 in the conference, but CSM holds the tiebreaker by virtue of its victory over the Thunderwolves. Mesa and Adams are both 9-8 and CSM also knocked both of them off in the regular season giving them the tiebreaker edge. Chadron State is two games back at 8-10 in the league, but defeated Mines two times this season. A win by CSM and a loss by Chadron this week will put the Orediggers in the tournament.

SCOUTING THIS WEEK’S COMPETITION:
Colorado Christian enters the week at 9-16 overall and 6-11 in the RMAC. Last week, the Cougars lost at Metro State (78-61) and Chadron State (77-72). For the season, CCU is paced by Matt Vaughn who ranks 11th in the RMAC in scoring at 14.5 points per game. Clinton Fuller is 16th in the conference in scoring (13.7 ppg), while Lance Goeddel is tied for 22nd in the league in scoring (12.7 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding at 6.4 boards per night. As a team, Colorado Christian shoots 46 percent from the field, 34 percent from three-point range and 72 percent from the charity stripe. The Cougars average 72.2 points per game and give up 74.4.

Regis comes into the week at 11-14 overall and 4-13 in the RMAC after dropping games to Fort Hays, 67-60, and Nebraska-Keanrey, 72-59, last week. For the season, the Rangers are led by Torrance Toomer who posts 12.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, both team highs. Jeremy Bennett contributes 11.4 points and 3.5 boards per game, while Casey Fisher records 9.6 points per night. As a team, Regis shoots 45 percent from the floor, 34 percent from three-point range and 69 percent from the free throw line. The Rangers are last in the RMAC in scoring offense (68.5 ppg), but their defense in third best in the conference giving up just 69.7 per game.

LAST TIME VS. CCU (1/21/03): The Colorado School of Mines men’s basketball team tied a school record with its 10th straight victory as it defeated Colorado Christian, 82-73, in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men’s basketball action in Volk Gymnasium. CCU gained a 15-point lead midway through the first half and led by as many as 16 in the half. The Cougars led 39-27 at the half. Mines opened the second half on a 17-3 run to cut its deficit to one point with 14:36 left in the game and then took the lead for good with 9:50 remaining as sophomore guard Matt Luedtke converted a four-point play. The Orediggers pushed their lead to as many as 10 points from that point. Sophomore guard Stephen Bahl led the way as he scored a game-high 36 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including 6-of-10 from three-point land. Bahl tallied 31 of his points in the final stanza. Matt Vaughn led the Cougars with 22 points.

LAST TIME VS. REGIS (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 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 Regis was led by Jeremy Bennett who tallied 19 points and nine boards.