Colorado School of Mines vs. #8 Fort Hays State
Friday, January 27, 2006 - 8:00 pm
Golden, Colo. - Volk Gymnasium

Colorado School of Mines vs. Chadron State
Saturday, January 28, 2006 - 8:00 pm
Golden, Colo. - Volk Gymnasium

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THE HEAD COACH: Pryor Orser is in his fifth year as the head coach of the Colorado School of Mines men’s basketball team. He claims an overall record of 55-71, including a 33-52 mark in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games. In 2004-05, he guided the squad to a 16-12 record (10-9 RMAC) and a berth in the RMAC Tournament. In addition, Orser guided CSM to a 74-71 upset of then No. 1-ranked Metro State on Jan. 22 in Volk Gym. He was instrumental in helping senior guard Stephen Bahl earn First Team All-RMAC, First Team All Region and Third Team All-American honors. In addition, he was also named the North Central Region Player of the Year. Orser has coached a total of 11 All-Conference players at CSM, including three Freshmen of the Year, most recently Ben Mohr a season ago.
Orser received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with minors in Economics and History in 1990 from Eastern Montana College and his Masters of Education in 1995 from Montana State University-Billings. His previous coaching experience includes a four-year tenure at Northwest College in Wyo., where he worked as the head coach of the women’s basketball program and an assistant to the men’s basketball program. He also served a two-year stint as the assistant men’s coach at Carroll College in Helena, Mont., and a three-year stint as the men’s assistant at Montana State University at Billings.

No. Probable Starters Pos Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
10 Travis Test PG 5-11 Sr. Pierce, Neb. 10.2 3.1 3.8
3 Kyle Pape SG 6-2 Fr. Honolulu, Hawaii 14.2 3.1 2.8
23 Franklin Ryk SF 6-4 Jr. Fort Collins, Colo. 9.8 4.1 2.0
33 Clayton Moores PF 6-8 Jr. Denver, Colo. 5.2 4.7 1.1
44 Ian Elseth C 6-8 Jr. Grants Pass, Ore. 12.7 5.6 1.4

No. Off the Bench Pos Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
5 Casey O’Hayre G 5-11 Fr. Littleton, Colo. 1.3 0.7 1.2
11 Troy Sandley G 6-4 Fr. Eltham, Austrailia 1.3 0.3 0.3
20 Alex Hayman G 6-4 So. Sydney, Austrailia 2.7 1.6 0.7
22 Bill Hadley G 6-0 Sr. Littleton, Colo. 1.2 0.7 0.6
30 Matt Witwer F 6-5 So. Minot, N.D. 0.3 0.2 0.3
31 Grant Gunhus G 6-3 Fr. Fargo, N.D. 2.4 0.9 0.2
32 Ryan McKay F 6-8 So. Halstead, Kan. 1.3 0.3 0.5
40 Cody Clickner F 6-8 RFR Denver, Colo. 0.3 1.0 0.1
42 Ben Mohr F 6-6 So. Colo. Springs, Colo. 6.6 2.9 0.9
52 Davey Iverson PF 6-6 Jr. Winnett, Mont. 6.9 5.6 1.3

CSM PICKED FIFTH IN RMAC PRESEASON POLL: The Colorado School of Mines men’s basketball team was picked fifth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference East Division Preseason Poll with 62 total points. Metro State was tabbed No. 1 with 21 points and seven first place votes to narrowly edge Nebraska-Kearney who received 22 points and six first place votes. They were followed by Fort Hays State (34 points and one first place vote), Regis (50), Colorado School of Mines (62), Chadron State (70) and Colorado Christian (85).

UP NEXT: CSM will be back in action on Tuesday night when it hosts Colorado Christian at 8:00 pm in Volk Gym. On Friday night, CSM will travel to Nebraska-Kearney for an 8:00 pm tipoff.

LAST WEEK: CSM split a pair of RMAC road games. On Friday night, the Orediggers snapped Metro State’s 47-game home win streak with a 69-65 overtime win. CSM fell the following night at Regis, 77-58.

AGAINST METRO STATE (1/20): The Colorado School of Mines men’s basketball team snapped Metro State’s 47-game home win streak with a 69-65 overtime win. Junior guard Franklin Ryk led the way as he scored 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting from three-point land. Junior center Clayton Moores added a double-double with a career-high 16 points and 10 boards.

AGAINST REGIS (1/21): CSM dropped a 77-58 contest at Regis. Freshman guard Kyle Pape scored a team-best 21 points, while senior guard Travis Test added 11 markers.

ABOUT FORT HAYS STATE: The Tigers enter the week at 16-1 overall and are the lone remaining undefeated team in the RMAC at 9-0. FHSU has won nine straight since its only loss of the season to Southwest Baptist (60-57) on Dec. 2. Last weekend, FHSU defeated Chadron State at home, 82-58, and also won at Nebraska-Kearney, 74-72. It was the Tigers first win at UNK since 1996, the year Fort Hays won the National Championship. Tyrone Shephard, the reigning RMAC East Division Player of the Week, leads the team in scoring (13.5 ppg), while Derrick Turner averages 9.9 points and 5.3 boards per game. As a team, the Tigers shoot 46 percent from the floor, 37 percent from three-point land and 71 percent from the foul line.

ABOUT CHADRON STATE: The Eagles are 7-10 overall and 2-7 in the RMAC following road losses at Fort Hays (82-58) and Nebraska-Kearney (78-71) last week. Marcus Ligons leads the team in both scoring (13.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg), while Adisa Tobin posts 11.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per night. As a team, Chadron State shoots 43 percent from the field, 33 percent from three-point range and 67 percent at the foul line.

HOME SWEET HOME: Prior to this year, CSM had been close to unbeatable at home as it was 19-1 over its 20 home games entering this season. CSM is 5-3 at Volk Gymnasium this season. Prior to losing to Fort Lewis on Dec. 16, the Orediggers had won seven straight home games.

ROAD WOES: In contrast, CSM has not fared as well on the road as it is just 4-14 over its last 18 road games. CSM broke a 10-game road losing streak with a 68-52 win at Western State on Dec. 10. Prior to that win, the Orediggers had not won on the road since Dec. 20, 2004, an 82-74 win at Adams State.

BATTLE TESTED: Senior point guard Travis Test has been very productive in running the show for CSM this season as he is third on the team at 10.2 points per game and has dished out a team-best 65 assists compared to only 34 turnovers. Test has scored in double figures in nine of the last 14 games, including a career high 16 points in a Dec. 10 win at Western State. He is fifth in the RMAC in assists (3.8 apg) and had a career-high seven in a Jan. 14 win against CSU-Pueblo.

LESS IS NOT MOHR: Sophomore forward Ben Mohr earned RMAC Freshman of the Year honors last season. It marked the third time in the last four seasons that a player from CSM had won the award as Mohr joined Stephen Bahl (2001-02) and Kevin Wagstaff (2002-03). Wagstaff is currently at Fort Hays State after transferring following the 2004-05 season. He is redshirting this year and has one more year of eligibility.

IF I COULD BE LIKE RYK: Junior guard Franklin Ryk is the top returning scorer for CSM as he averaged 8.3 points per game last season. This season, Ryk is fourth on the team in scoring at 9.8 points per game. He has missed out on his first career double-double on two occasions this season as he came up one rebound short each time against St. Martin’s and Gwynedd Mercy. In Friday’s overtime win at Metro State, Ryk scored 17 points as he was 5-of-5 from three-point land.

HE’S NOT ALLEN, BUT: Junior forward Davey Iverson is back for his third year at CSM. The 6-foot-6 Iverson has played in all 72 games during his career and has averaged 6.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He started all but one game as a freshman, came off the bench in all but one game last season and has started 11 of the 17 games this season.

WE WANT MOORES: Junior center Clayton Moores has grabbed at least five rebounds in eight games this year and dished out a career-best five assists in a loss to Fort Lewis on Dec. 16. In Friday’s win at Metro State, Moores notched his first career double double with a career-best 16 points and 10 rebounds.

BLOCK PARTY: Juniors Davey Iverson and Clayton Moores are making it tough for opponents to come into the paint as each ranks in the top-3 of the RMAC in blocked shots. Iverson is second with 27 blocks (1.6 bpg), while Moores is third with 26 blocked shots (1.5 bpg). CSM is ranked first in the RMAC in blocked shots with 69 (4.1 bpg).

KYLE HAS STYLE: Freshman guard Kyle Pape has made big strides early in the season. After scoring just 18 points in the first four games, Pape is averaging 18.6 points over the last 12 games (223 total), including 12 in double figures. Pape had his string snapped at five games of scoring at least 20 points in a Jan. 14 win over CSU-Pueblo. He is leading the team in scoring at 14.2 points per game, which puts him 8th in the RMAC. He has led the team in scoring eight times overall.

HELP FROM THE NORTHWEST: Junior center Ian Elseth, who played at Snow Junior College last season and at Oregon State in 2001-02, is currently second on the team in scoring (12.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.6 rpg). He has led the team in scoring five times and has 11 double digit scoring games. Elseth ranks first in the RMAC in field goal percentage (.644) and 15th in scoring and rebounding. He missed last week’s games at Metro State and Regis due to an injury.

GOOD COMPANY: In high school, Elseth was named to the Oregon All-State First Team along with former Arizona standout Salim Stoudamire, currently with the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA, and former Kansas stars Aaron Miles and Michael Lee. Miles is currently playing with the Golden State Warriors in the NBA.

THE AUSTRALIAN DUO: The CSM roster features a pair of student-athletes from Australia. Sophomore guard Alex Hayman is from Sydney, while freshman guard Troy Sandley is from Eltham.

CASEY ON THE COURT: Freshman guard Casey O’Hayre made his first appearance of the season in the Dec. 17 loss to Adams State. He was pulled out of his redshirt season and will play the rest of the year. O’Hayre posted four points, two assists and a steal in 17 minutes in a win over UCCS on Jan. 7 and came back in a Jan. 14 win over CSU-Pueblo with career highs in points (5), rebounds (2) and assists (3) in nine minutes.

GRANT’S GOOD WEEK: Freshman guard Grant Gunhus had his best two games of the season three weeks ago. In a Jan. 5 loss at N.M. Highlands, he posted a career-best eight points and topped that in a Jan. 7 win at UCCS with 11 points in six minutes of action. In the two games, he hit 7-of-9 shots, including 5-of-7 from three-point land.

CLOSE CALLS: CSM has played its share of close games this year, but has also been involved in its share of blowouts. The Orediggers are 4-3 in games decided by 11 points or more and 3-5 in games decided by 10 points or less. CSM has lost games by two points to St. Martin’s, two points in overtime to Fort Lewis, five points to Adams State and North Dakota and four points at New Mexico Highlands.