COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTES #7

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Colorado Mines vs. Adams State
Friday, January 16, 2004
8:00 pm • Golden, Colo.

Colorado Mines vs. Fort Lewis
Saturday, January 17, 2004
8:00 pm • Golden, Colo.

No. Probable Starters Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
3 Kevin Wagstaff 5-10 So. Colorado Springs, Colo. 11.8 1.8 2.9
11 Stephen Bahl 5-10 Jr. Broomfield, Colo. 20.5 2.2 3.0
20 Matt Luedtke 6-0 Jr. Ronan, Mont. 17.8 5.2 1.9
32 Ryan McKay 6-8 Fr. Halstead, Kan. 5.3 4.2 0.8
52 Davey Iverson 6-6 RFR Winnett, Mont. 8.7 6.9 0.6

No. Off the Bench Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
10 Ross Shaeffer 5-10 Fr. Casper, Wyo. 0.7 0.4 1.2
22 Bill Hadley 6-0 So. Littleton, Colo. 0.0 0.0 0.0
23 Ross Rhinehart 6-4 So. Highlands Ranch, Colo. 2.0 1.2 1.1
30 Matt Witwer 6-5 Fr. Minot, N.D. 1.7 1.6 0.6
33 Clayton Moores 6-8 Fr. Denver, Colo. 4.3 3.6 0.5
40 Casey Schmitz 6-6 Fr. Williston, N.D. 2.4 2.9 0.2
42 Dale Fallon 6-3 Fr. Guymon, Okla. 1.9 1.6 0.4
55 Bryan Carruthers 6-0 Fr. Longmont, Colo. 0.0 0.5 0.0

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 travel to Colorado Christian on Jan. 20 for an 8:00 pm tip and then play at Regis on Jan. 24 at 3:00 pm.

LAST TIME OUT (1/10/04): The Colorado Mines men’s basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak with a 71-51 victory at New Mexico Highlands’ Wilson Complex on Saturday night. Junior guard Stephen Bahl led all scorers with 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the floor. Freshman center Casey Schmitz added a career-high 12 points and four rebounds off the bench, while junior guard Matt Luedtke chipped in 13 points for the victors.

ABOUT ADAMS STATE: The Grizzlies begin the week at 8-8 overall and 1-4 in the RMAC after splitting a pair of home games last weekend. ASC lost to Nebraska-Kearney, 88-73, on Friday, but rebounded to knock off Fort Hays State, 61-50, on Saturday. Brandon Brochinsky led the way as he totaled 24 points and 13 rebounds in the two games. He also leads the team in scoring (11.7 ppg) this season and grabs 5.1 rebounds per night. Brandon Norris posts 11.4 points and a team-best 8.2 rebounds per night. A total of five players average at least 10.6 points per game for the Grizzlies.

LAST TIME vs. ADAMS STATE (1/17/03): The Colorado Mines men’s basketball team overcame a 13-point halftime deficit and posted a 66-59 victory over Adams State at Plachy Hall. The Grizzlies jumped out quickly as they led 21-6 with 7:25 left in the first half and maintained a double-digit lead up until halftime. ASC extended its lead to 16 points early in the second half, however, Mines would go on a 23-6 run over the next eight minutes of action to claim its first lead of the contest (43-42) midway through the second half. With the game tied at 51-51, CSM went on a mini 5-0 run to claim a 56-51 lead with five minutes to play and Adams State would not threaten the remainder of the game as Mines sank 7-of-9 free throws down the stretch. Stephen Bahl paced Mines with 18 points and Brandon Norris led Adams State with 14 points and five boards.

ABOUT FORT LEWIS: The Skyhawks enter the week at 9-3 overall and 4-1 in conference play after sweeping two home games last weekend to run their win streak to four games. On Friday, FLC knocked off Fort Hays, 92-60, and came back Saturday to defeat Nebraska-Kearney, 83-73. Nick Brooks tallied 25 points and 24 rebounds in the two wins. For the season, Brooks leads the squad in scoring (12.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.0 rpg). Ryan Sonnek posts 12.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest and Kevin Williams averages 10.3 points and 4.2 boards per game.

LAST TIME vs. FORT LEWIS (1/18/03): The Colorado Mines men’s basketball team completed a seven-game sweep of the RMAC Western Division with a 93-86 victory over Fort Lewis at the FLC Fieldhouse. Mines raced out to a quick 12-3 lead three minutes into the contest, bur FLC responded with an 18-3 run to claim a 21-15 lead with 14:21 to play in the first half. From that point, CSM closed the first half by outscoring the Skyhawks, 39-24 to claim a 54-45 advantage at the break. The Skyhawks opened the second half on a 19-3 run to regain the lead (64-57) with 14:42 to play in the contest, but Mines would regain a 72-71 lead midway through the final stanza and push its lead to as many as 12 points and FLC would not threaten from there. Kevin Wagstaff led Mines with 17 points and two assists, while Kurt Patik posted 23 points and six boards in a losing cause.

FARRIS’ YEAR OFF: Senior forward Farris Broussard will be forced to miss this season and redshirt due to an 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 20.5 points per game and leads the team with 39 assists and 23 steals.
KEY TO SUCCESS: Junior guard Matt Luedtke has showcased his all-around game this year. Luedtke is second on the team in scoring (17.8 ppg), rebounding (5.2 rpg) and steals (15) and third in assists with 25. He also posted his first double double of the season (25 points and 10 boards) in a 79-69 overtime loss to North Dakota on Dec. 28.

DYNAMIC DUP: Junior guards Stephen Bahl and Matt Luedtke combine to form the highest scoring duo from one team in the RMAC at 38.3 points per game. Bahl is second in the league in scoring (20.5 ppg), while Luedtke is third (17.8 ppg).

WHAT’S THE POINT: Sophomore point guard Kevin Wagstaff is anchoring the Oredigger 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.

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 (8.7 ppg) and ranks sixth in the RMAC in rebounding (6.9 rpg) and fourth in blocked shots per game (1.2 bpg). Over the last four games, Iverson is averaging 11.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

WE WANT MOORES: Freshman center Clayton Moores has been solid in his first collegiate season. He is averaging 5.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and leads the team with 13 blocked shots. 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 Saturday’s win at New Mexico Highlands. Schmitz finished with a career-high 12 points and four rebounds

ON THE LINE: Close games often come down to free throw shooting and the Orediggers may have an advantage at the charity stripe against its opposition. Mines is currently ranked second in the RMAC and 29th nationally in free throw percentage (.733). Only Nebraska-Kearney at .747 shoots free throws better than Mines among RMAC schools.

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.