Colorado School of Mines at Chadron State
Thursday, February 9, 2006 - 8:00 pm
Chadron, Neb.

Colorado School of Mines at Fort Hays State
Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 8:00 pm
Hays, Kan.

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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 56-73, including a 34-54 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. 10.3 3.0 3.8
3 Kyle Pape SG 6-2 Fr. Honolulu, Hawaii 14.5 3.2 2.6
23 Franklin Ryk SF 6-4 Jr. Fort Collins, Colo. 9.4 3.9 1.9
33 Clayton Moores PF 6-8 Jr. Denver, Colo. 5.3 4.8 1.1
44 Ian Elseth C 6-8 Jr. Grants Pass, Ore. 12.1 6.2 1.5

No. Off the Bench Pos Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
5 Casey O’Hayre G 5-11 Fr. Littleton, Colo. 1.9 0.5 0.8
11 Troy Sandley G 6-4 Fr. Eltham, Austrailia 1.3 0.3 0.3
20 Alex Hayman G 6-4 So. Sydney, Austrailia 2.8 1.6 0.9
22 Bill Hadley G 6-0 Sr. Littleton, Colo. 1.1 0.7 0.6
30 Matt Witwer F 6-5 So. Minot, N.D. 0.6 0.4 0.3
31 Grant Gunhus G 6-3 Fr. Fargo, N.D. 2.4 0.9 0.4
32 Ryan McKay F 6-8 So. Halstead, Kan. 1.1 0.2 0.4
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. 6.3 2.8 1.0
52 Davey Iverson PF 6-6 Jr. Winnett, Mont. 6.8 5.0 1.2

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 next weekend with two games. On Tuesday, the Orediggers will travel to Colorado Christian for an 8:00 pm game and on Saturday, CSM will host Nebraska-Kearney at 8:00 pm in Volk Gym.

LAST WEEK: CSM fell at home to Colorado Chrisitian, 65-62, on Tuesday night and lost on Friday night at Nebraska-Kearney, 72-62.

AGAINST COLO. CHRISTIAN (1/31): The Colorado School of Mines men’s basketball team fell to Colorado Christian, 65-62, in Volk Gym. The game was knotted at 29-29 at halftime and the second half was just as close as the game was tied six times in the final 20 minutes. CCU held a 58-57 lead with 1:46 left, but extended it to 61-57 as Troy Johnson hit all three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt and held on for the win. CSM was led by senior guard Travis Test who scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 5-of-7 from three-point land. Junior guard Franklin Ryk added 13 points and four boards.

AGAINST NEBRASKA-KEARNEY (2/3): Colorado School of Mines junior center Ian Elseth scored a game-high 20 points and added seven rebounds, but it was not enough as the Orediggers fell at Nebraska-Kearney, 72-62, in the Health & Sports Center. UNK claimed a 33-29 lead at halftimeand extended it to 55-45 with 6:48 to go in the game. CSM would not cut its deficit under 10 points the rest of the way. CSM junior guard Franklin Ryk tallied 13 points and three assists.

ABOUT CHADRON STATE: The Eagles enter the week at 9-12 overall and 4-9 in the RMAC. Last week, CSC defeated Regis, 62-59, and lost to Metro State, 90-83, at home. Marcus Ligons leads the team in scoring (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 rpg), while Adisa Tobin posts 12.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. As a team, Chadron State is shooting 43 percent from the field, 34 percent from three-point land and 68 percent from the foul line. The Eagles average 64.8 points per game and give up 67.0 points per night.

ABOUT FORT HAYS STATE: The Tigers, ranked second in the Divison II national poll, enter the week at 20-1 overall and are the only undefeated team in the RMAC at 13-0. FHSU is riding a 13-game winning streak, including wins over Metro State (75-62) and Regis (69-48) last weekend at home. The Tigers have eight players averaging at least 6.0 points per game and are led by Tyrone Shephard who scores a team-best 12.8 points per game. Jeremy Atwater averages 8.2 points and a team-best 6.1 boards per night, while Derrick Graham records 7.7 points per game and leads the team with 77 assists. Fort Hays shoots 47 percent from the floor, 37 percent from three-point land and 71 percent from the charity stripe. The Tigers average 74.4 points per game and give up 60.1 points per game.

WE MEET AGAIN: This will be the second meeting for CSM with both Chadron State and Fort Hays State in less than two weeks. Back on Jan. 27, the Orediggers fell to FHSU, ranked No. 6 in the nation at the time, 56-52, in Volk Gym. The following night, the Orediggers handed Chadron State a 52-42 setback.

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 6-5 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 4-15 over its last 19 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 10.3 points per game and has dished out a team-best 80 assists compared to 41 turnovers. Test has scored in double figures in six of the last eight games, including a career-best 21 points in Tuesday’s loss to Colorado Christian. He is fourth in the RMAC in assists (3.8 apg) and tied his career-high with seven assists against both Chadron State and Fort Hays State two weeks ago.

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). Mohr has missed the last four games due to injury.

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 9.4 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 a Jan. 20 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 76 games during his career and has averaged 6.8 points and 5.5 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 12 of the 21 games this season.

WE WANT MOORES: Junior center Clayton Moores has grabbed at least five rebounds in nine games this year and dished out a career-best five assists in a loss to Fort Lewis on Dec. 16. In a Jan. 20 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. Moores ranks second with 37 blocked shots (1.8 bpg), while Iverson is third with 34 blocks (1.6 bpg) CSM is ranked first in the RMAC in blocked shots with 88 (4.2 bpg).

KYLE HAS STYLE: Freshman guard Kyle Pape has made big strides throughout the season. After scoring just 18 points in the first four games, Pape is averaging 17.2 points over the last 15 games (258 total), including 14 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 14.5 points per game, which puts him 8th in the RMAC. He missed both games last week due to illness.

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 (12.1 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (6.2 rpg). He has led the team in scoring six times and has 12 double digit scoring games. Elseth ranks second in the RMAC in field goal percentage (.591), ninth in rebounding (6.2 rpg) and 19th in scoring (12.1 ppg). He posted a career-high 12 rebounds in a Jan. 28 win over Chadron State.

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. He tied his career high with five points in Friday’s loss at Nebraska-Kearney.

GRANT’S GOOD WEEK: Freshman guard Grant Gunhus recently had his best two games of the season. 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 4-8 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, four points at New Mexico Highlands, four points to sixth-ranked Fort Hays and three points to Colorado Christian.

MISSED GAMES: Several of CSM’s starters and key reserves have missed games this season due to injuries or illness. Freshman guard Kyle Pape (Colorado Christian and Nebraska-Kearney) and junior center Ian Elseth (Metro State and Regis) have both missed two games, junior guard Franklin Ryk (Western State, Fort Lewis and Adams State) has missed three games and sophomore forward Ben Mohr (Mary, North Dakota, Regis, Chadron State, Colorado Christian and Nebraska-Kearney) has missed six games.