Colorado School of Mines vs. Regis University
Friday, February 24, 2006 - 8:00 pm
Golden, Colo. - Volk Gymnasium

Colorado School of Mines vs. Metro State
Saturday, February 25, 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 59-74, including a 37-55 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. 10.5 3.1 3.8
3 Kyle Pape SG 6-2 Fr. Honolulu, Hawaii 13.7 3.4 2.4
23 Franklin Ryk SF 6-4 Jr. Fort Collins, Colo. 10.1 4.2 1.7
52 Davey Iverson PF 6-6 Jr. Winnett, Mont. 7.1 4.8 1.2
44 Ian Elseth C 6-8 Jr. Grants Pass, Ore. 12.2 5.8 1.4

No. Off the Bench Pos Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
5 Casey O’Hayre G 5-11 Fr. Littleton, Colo. 1.5 0.6 0.9
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 1.7 0.9
22 Bill Hadley G 6-0 Sr. Littleton, Colo. 0.9 0.6 0.5
30 Matt Witwer F 6-5 So. Minot, N.D. 0.5 0.4 0.3
31 Grant Gunhus G 6-3 Fr. Fargo, N.D. 2.1 0.9 0.3
32 Ryan McKay F 6-8 So. Halstead, Kan. 1.2 0.4 0.4
33 Clayton Moores PF 6-8 Jr. Denver, Colo. 5.2 4.7 1.1
40 Cody Clickner F 6-8 RFR Denver, Colo. 0.2 0.9 0.1
42 Ben Mohr F 6-6 So. Colo. Springs, Colo. 6.3 2.8 1.0

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’s fate will be decided after this weekend. If the Orediggers can take care of business, they will play in the first round of the RMAC/Wells Fargo Shootout on Mar. 1 at a site and time to be determined.

LAST WEEK: CSM won on Tuesday night in overtime at Colorado Christian, 77-71, and handed Nebraska-Kearney a 70-57 setback in Volk Gym on Saturday night. It was the first win over the Lopers under Head Coach Pryor Orser. He has now defeated all 13 teams in the RMAC at least one time.

AGAINST COLO. CHRISTIAN (2/14): The Colorado School of Mines men’s basketball team placed all five starters in double figures en route to a 77-71 overtime win at Colorado Christian. Junior guard Franklin Ryk led the way with a season-best 19 points and six boards, while junior center Ian Elseth added 14 points and four boards. Senior guard Travis Test recorded 13 points, while junior forward Davey Iverson and freshman guard Kyle Pape chipped in 11 markers each.

AGAINST NEB.-KEARNEY (2/18): The Colorado School of Mines men’s basketball team raced out to a 12-0 lead five minutes into the game and never relinquished a double digit lead en route to a 70-57 win over Nebraska-Kearney in Volk Gymnasium. The Orediggers, who posted 12 blocked shots, held UNK to 25 percent (16-63) shooting and a season low in points (57). The Lopers came into the contest as the highest scoring team in the conference at 81.0 points per game and one of the top shooting teams in the nation (.510). Junior center Clayton Moores posted 11 points, seven rebounds and a career-high seven blocked shots to lead CSM. Junior center Ian Elseth added a game-best 20 points, while freshman guard Kyle Pape chipped in 13 points and six boards.

ABOUT REGIS: The Rangers are 11-14 overall and two games behind CSM in the RMAC standings at 6-11. The Rangers, who fell at home to Fort Hays and Chadron State last weekend, have lost eight straight games since a 77-58 win over CSM on Jan. 21. Brandon Butler leads the team in scoring (14.6 ppg) and rebounding (6.2 rpg), while Ben Schafer averages 10.2 points and Logan Garvin chips in 10.0 points per night. As a team, the Rangers average 68.4 points per game and shoot 49 percent from the floor, 41 percent from three-point land and 69 percent from the foul line.

ABOUT METRO STATE: The Roadunners, who have secured a berth in the RMAC Tournament, are 17-8 overall and 11-6 in conference play following a home win over Chadron State and a home loss to Fort Hays State last weekend. Drew Williamson leads the team in scoring (17.2 ppg) and is also among the nation’s leaders in steals with 100. Greg Muth posts 11.1 points per game, while Michael Bahl, the younger brother of former CSM All-American, Stephen, averages 10.7 points and a team-high 5.3 rebounds per night. Metro averages 74.6 points per game and is shooting 48 percent from the field, 40 percent from three-point land and 76 percent from the charity stripe.

WE MEET AGAIN: This will be the second meeting for CSM with both Regis and Metro State in the last month. Back on Jan. 20, the Orediggers snapped Metro State’s 47-game home winning streak with a 69-65 overtime win. The following night, CSM dropped a 77-58 decision at Regis.

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 7-5 at Volk Gymnasium this season. Prior to losing to Fort Lewis on Dec. 16, CSM had won seven straight home games.

ROAD WOES: In contrast, CSM has not fared as well on the road as it is 7-16 over its last 23 road games, but 5-6 this year. 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 10.5 points per game and has dished out a team-best 96 assists compared to 50 turnovers. Test has scored in double figures in eight of the last 12 games, including a career-best 21 points in a Jan. 31 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 a month 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 seven games and eight of the last nine 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 10.1 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 is averaging 13.3 points per game over the last six games, including a season best 19 points in last Tuesday’s win at Colorado Christian.

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 80 games during his career and has averaged 6.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots per game. He has tallied 547 career points, 403 career rebounds and 90 career blocked shots.

WE WANT MOORES: Junior center Clayton Moores has grabbed at least five rebounds in 11 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. He had his best all-around game in Saturday’s upset of Nebraska-Kearney as he totaled 11 points, seven boards and a career-best seven blocks.

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 is tops in the conference with 46 blocked shots (1.84 bpg) following his seven block performance on Saturday. Iverson ranks third with 41 blocks (1.64 bpg). As a team, CSM ranks first in the conference with 109 total (4.4 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 15.6 points over the last 19 games (297 total), including 16 in double figures. He 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 13.7 points per game (11th in the RMAC) and is a strong candidate for RMAC Freshman of the Year as he is also averaging 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per night.

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 (12.2 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (5.8 rpg). He has led the team in scoring seven times and has 15 double digit scoring games. Elseth leads the RMAC in field goal percentage (.596), and is 13th in rebounding and 18th in scoring. 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.

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 a Feb. 3 loss at Nebraska-Kearney.

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 has missed 10 games, including the last seven and eight of the last nine overall.

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.

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 7-4 in games decided by 11 points or more and 6-8 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.

D ... D ... D ... DEFENSE!!: The Orediggers are proving that defense does indeed win games. CSM is holding its opponents to 41 percent shooting from the floor and just 64.2 points per game. In addition, the Orediggers are among the nation’s best with 109 blocked shots. CSM has also held three of the teams they have played to the lowest point totals of the season. That group includes Pittsburg State (39), Chadron State (42 and 45) and Nebraska-Kearney (57). The Orediggers have also held No. 1 ranked Fort Hays State to 56 points and Nebraska-Omaha to 52 points. Both of those totals rank as the second lowest output for those teams this season.\

LET’S GET 70, BUT STAY AWAY FROM 60: The number 70 appears to be magic for CSM this year as the team is 6-1 when it scores at least 70 points. In contrast, the Orediggers are just 6-11 when scoring less than 70 points. CSM is 4-4 when it scores 59 points or less and just 2-7 when it scores between 60-69 points.

TALKIN’ TOURNEY: With the RMAC Tournament scheduled to begin next Wednesday, the Orediggers could find themselves in a number of places depending on the outcome of this week’s games. CSM could fall in the 7th or 8th seed. If CSM winds up 8th, it would travel to top-seeded Fort Hays State, the No. 1 team in the nation. If the Orediggers grab the No. 7 seed, they would travel to the champion of the RMAC West Division, either Fort Lewis or Mesa State. CSM needs to win one of its final two games to clinch a berth in the tournament. Here is a look at the possible scenarios heading into the weekend.

If CSM wins its final two games: CSM would be the No. 7 seed and travel to Fort Lewis or Mesa State (RMAC West Division Champ). Fort Lewis currently holds a one game lead over the Mavericks.

If CSM wins one of its final two games: CSM would clinch a berth in the tournament. The Orediggers would be the No. 7 seed IF New Mexico Highlands wins one of its final two games (at Western State and at Mesa State). IF New Mexico Highlands wins its final two games, CSM would be the No. 8 seed and travel to Fort Hays State.

If CSM loses its final two games: Here is where it gets confusing because CSM could clinch a berth, or it could be left out of the tournament picture. CSM would clinch a berth IF New Mexico Highlands loses its two remaining games OR if Regis loses its game to Colorado Christian on Saturday night (provided Regis defeats CSM on Friday night). CSM would not get into the tournament if BOTH New Mexico Highlands AND Regis win their final two games.