COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTES #10

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Colorado Mines at Chadron State
Thursday, February 5, 2004
8:00 pm • Chadron, Neb.

Colorado Mines at Metro State
Saturday, February 7, 2004
7:00 pm • Denver, Colo.

No. Probable Starters Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
3 Kevin Wagstaff 5-10 So. Colorado Springs, Colo. 10.8 1.9 2.9
11 Stephen Bahl 5-10 Jr. Broomfield, Colo. 19.7 2.3 2.5
20 Matt Luedtke 6-0 Jr. Ronan, Mont. 17.5 5.2 1.7
32 Ryan McKay 6-8 Fr. Halstead, Kan. 4.4 3.8 0.6
52 Davey Iverson 6-6 RFR Winnett, Mont. 8.0 6.2 0.7

No. Off the Bench Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
10 Ross Shaeffer 5-10 Fr. Casper, Wyo. 1.1 0.6 1.0
22 Bill Hadley 6-0 So. Littleton, Colo. 0.7 0.2 0.0
23 Ross Rhinehart 6-4 So. Highlands Ranch, Colo. 1.8 1.3 1.0
30 Matt Witwer 6-5 Fr. Minot, N.D. 1.9 1.5 0.4
33 Clayton Moores 6-8 Fr. Denver, Colo. 4.5 3.3 0.4
40 Casey Schmitz 6-6 Fr. Williston, N.D. 2.4 2.6 0.2
42 Dale Fallon 6-3 Fr. Guymon, Okla. 1.7 1.8 0.3
55 Bryan Carruthers 6-0 Fr. Longmont, Colo. 0.6 0.4 0.6

THE HEAD COACH: The 2003-04 season will mark Pryor Orser’s third year as the head men’s basketball coach at Colorado School of Mines. Last year, Orser led CSM to one of the best seasons in school history as the team posted an overall record of 18-10, including a 12-7 mark in the RMAC. Mines also advanced to the RMAC Tournament for the first time since 1999 where it was knocked off at Fort Hays State in the opening round. In his first season at the helm, Orser led the Orediggers to an overall record of 5-21, including a 3-16 mark in the RMAC. Prior to coming to CSM, Orser served one year as the assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of Montana in Missoula. Orser received his Bachelors of Science in Business Administration–Finance with minors in Economics and History in 1990 from Eastern Montana College and his Masters of Education in 1995 from Montana State University-Billings. 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, an assistant to the men’s basketball program, and a physical education instructor. At Northwest, Orser led the women’s squad to the most wins in school history (22) during his fourth and final season. It was an improvement of 20 games from his first season at the school. Orser also served a two-year stint as the assistant men’s coach and the assistant sports information director at Carroll College in Helena, Mont., and a three-year position as the men’s assistant at Montana State University at Billings. A graduate of Gardiner High School in Gardiner, Mont., Orser received Class C State MVP honors as a senior in 1985. He lettered four years at MSU – Billings as the team went to the NCAA II tournament twice in Orser’s collegiate career, including a trip to the 1987 NCAA Division II Final Four.

MINES PICKED FOURTH IN PRESEASON RMAC POLL: The Colorado School of Mines men’s basketball team was picked fourth out of seven teams in the Preseason RMAC East Division Poll. Metro State was picked to win the East Division with 13 points and 13 first place votes. The Roadrunners were followed by Nebraska-Kearney (30), Fort Hays State (35), Mines (50), Regis (66), Chadron State (69) and Colorado Christian (80). Individually, junior guards Stephen Bahl and Matt Luedtke were named to the Preseason All-RMAC East Division Team.

UP NEXT: CSM will conclude the road portion of its schedule by travelling to Fort Hays (Feb. 13) and Nebraska-Kearney (Feb. 14) for 8:00 pm games.

LAST TIME OUT (1/31/04): Nebraska-Kearney raced out to a 47-33 lead at the half and used a 28-point, eight rebound effort from Nick Branting to knock off the Colorado School of Mines, 95-71, Saturday night in Volk Gymnasium. Leading 26-24 with 7:11 to play in the first half, the Lopers proceeded to go on a 21-9 run to close the first half and take a 14 point advantage to the locker room. Mines received a double-double of 26 points and a career-high 12 rebounds from junior guard Matt Luedtke.

ABOUT CHADRON STATE: The Eagles enter the week at 7-12 overall (3-8 RMAC) and on a four-game losing streak. Last week, CSC dropped games at Metro State (77-50) and Regis (83-68). Elijah Collins leads the team in both scoring (13.9 ppg) and rebounding (5.8 rpg). Jeremy Wissing adds 12.9 points and 4.5 boards per game and Darnell Williams chips in 5.6 points per night and leads the team in assists (77).

LAST TIME vs. CHADRON (2/20/03): Despite a game-high 31 points by Stephen Bahl, Colorado Mines was dealt a 92-82 setback at Chadron State. Chadron claimed a 42-32 lead at the half, but had the lead cut to one point (44-43) as Mines opened the first three minutes of the second half on an 11-2 run. Leading 58-56 with 12:31 to play in the game, the Eagles would go on a 9-1 run to claim a 10 point lead with 9:28 to play. Mines would cut the lead to two points on a three-pointer by Bahl with 2:20 to play, but the Eagles responded on the next possession as Brandon Doke hit a three to push the Chadron lead to five points. Chadron then hit 7-of-12 free throws in the final minute to ice the game. Elijah Collins totaled 21 points and nine rebounds. for the Eagles.

ABOUT METRO STATE: The Roadrunners open the week at 17-2 overall and as the lone undefeated team in the RMAC (11-0) and ranked fifth in the nation. MSCD has won 15 straight after beginning the season at 2-2. Last week, the Roadrunners knocked off Chadron State (77-50) and Regis (104-49) at home. Metro currently leads the RMAC in scoring offense (93.3 ppg) and scoring defense (60.5 ppg). The team also has five players who average double figures, led by RMAC Preseason Player of the Year Luke Kendall who scores 12.8 points per game. Lester Strong contributes 11.6 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds per night.

LAST TIME vs. METRO (2/22/03): Colorado Mines fell to 16-9 overall and 10-7 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a 91-63 setback at seventh-ranked Metro State at the Auraria Events Center. Stephen Bahl was the only Oredigger to register double figures as he scored 13 points. Metro’s Luke Kendall led all scorers with 31 points on 11-of-21 shooting, including 5-of-10 from three-point range.

FARRIS’ YEAR OFF: Forward Farris Broussard will miss this season and redshirt due to injury. He is slated to return for the 2004-05 season to play his senior season.

MILESTONE REACHED: Junior guard Stephen Bahl reached a milestone in a loss to Central Washington on Nov. 28 when he scored his 1,000th career point.

HE’S A “BAHL”ER: Junior guard Stephen Bahl is one of the top returning players in the conference and region this season. Last year, he led the RMAC in scoring (22.2 ppg) en route to First Team All-RMAC and Second Team All-Region honors. Bahl was honored as a Preseason Honorable Mention All-America by Street and Smith’s this season.He is currently second in the RMAC in scoring at 19.7 points per game and leads the team with 26 steals.
LOVE THOSE LOPERS: Junior guard Matt Luedtke posted his second straight double-double against Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday with 26 points and a career-high 12 boards. In three career games against the Lopers, Luedtke is averaging 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds. He leads the RMAC in three-pointers made this season with 51.

WHAT’S THE POINT: Sophomore point guard Kevin Wagstaff is anchoring the CSM offense for the second striaght year after being named the RMAC Newcomer of the Year last season. He posted a career-best 22 points in in a loss at Western State on Dec. 12.

DYNAMIC DUO: Junior guards Stephen Bahl and Matt Luedtke combine to form the highest scoring duo from one team in the RMAC at 37.2 points per game. Bahl is second in the league in scoring (19.7 ppg), while Luedtke is fifth (17.5 ppg).

DYNAMIC TRIO: Guards Stephen Bahl,Matt Luedtke and Kevin Wagstaff have provided much of the offense for Mines this year. In two losses last week, the trio combined for 102 of the 143 points the Orediggers scored. In all, the group is responsible for 66.5 percent of the Oredigger points this year.

NOT ALLEN, BUT DAVEY WILL DO: Redshirt freshman forward Davey Iverson has had an outstanding start to his career. In his first collegiate game, Iverson posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds and added three assists. He is fourth on the team in scoring (8.0 ppg) and ranks 13th in the RMAC in rebounding (6.2 rpg) and 10th in blocked shots per game (0.9 bpg).

WE WANT MOORES: Freshman center Clayton Moores has been solid in his first collegiate season. He is averaging 4.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and leads the team with 21 blocked shots, which ranks fifth in the conference. In a Dec. 17 win over Northern Colorado, Moores set career-highs with nine rebounds and four blocked shots.

CASEY ON THE COURT: Freshman center Casey Schmitz had a career night in a 71-51 win at New Mexico Highlands on Jan. 10. Schmitz finished with a career-high 12 points and four rebounds.

YOUNG DIGGERS: The CSM roster features just four players who began the season with experience playing college basketball and eight players who are in their first season.