#7 Colorado School of Mines at #2 Fort Lewis
Wednesday, March 1, 2006 - 8:00 pm
Durango, Colo. - Whalen Gymnasium
RMAC SHOOTOUT

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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 60-75, including a 38-56 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. 10.7 3.1 3.9
3 Kyle Pape SG 6-2 Fr. Honolulu, Hawaii 13.6 3.4 2.3
23 Franklin Ryk SF 6-4 Jr. Fort Collins, Colo. 10.5 4.3 1.8
52 Davey Iverson PF 6-6 Jr. Winnett, Mont. 7.0 4.9 1.1
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. 1.4 0.7 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 2.5 1.6 0.8
22 Bill Hadley G 6-0 Sr. Littleton, Colo. 0.8 0.7 0.6
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. 1.9 0.8 0.3
32 Ryan McKay F 6-8 So. Halstead, Kan. 1.1 0.5 0.4
33 Clayton Moores PF 6-8 Jr. Denver, Colo. 5.0 4.6 1.0
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), Colo. School of Mines (62), Chadron State (70) and Colorado Christian (85).

UP NEXT: The seventh-seeded Orediggers will play in the RMAC Tournament Quarterfinals on Wednesday night at second-seeded Fort Lewis. Tipoff is slated for 8:00 pm

LAST WEEK: CSM split a pair of home games, defeating Regis on Friday night, 70-63, and losing to Metro State, 62-53, on Saturday night.

AGAINST REGIS (2/24): Colorado School of Mines junior guard Franklin Ryk scored a career-high 26 points and added seven rebounds and three assists to lead the Orediggers to a 70-63 win over Regis in Volk Gym. CSM trailed 28-26 at halftime, but opened the second half on a 14-2 run to claim a 40-31 advantage four minutes into the second half and held on for the win. CSM senior guard Travis Test finished with 15 points and six dimes, while freshman guard Kyle Pape added 14 points and five boards.

AGAINST METRO STATE (2/25): Metro State raced out to a 35-19 halftime lead and held on to claim a 62-53 win over Colorado School of Mines in Volk Gym. CSM was able to slice the deficit to as little as five points (51-46) with 5:23 to play, but could get no closer. CSM junior center Ian Elseth led the Orediggers with 16 points and six boards. Senior guard Travis Test added 12 points and freshman guard Kyle Pape chipped in 10.

ABOUT FORT LEWIS: The Skyhawks enter the week at 18-8 overall and earned the No. 2 seed in the RMAC Tournament by winning the West Division Title with a 14-5 conference mark. FLC has won 10-of-12 games, including a 70-67 overtime win at CSU-Pueblo on Friday night in its season finale. Tim Bieri leads the team in scoring (18.3 ppg) and rebounding (5.8 rpg) and also is tops on the squad in blocks (46), steals (62) and assists (70). Ryan Johnson adds 12.5 points per game, while Gerald Bryant chips in 8.7 points per night. As a team, the Skyhawks average 74.9 points per game and shoot 45 percent from the floor, 37 percent from three-point land and 71 percent from the charity stripe.

LAST TIME vs. FORT LEWIS (12/16): The Colorado School of Mines men’s basketball team had its seven game home winning streak snapped with a 63-61 overtime setback to Fort Lewis in Volk Gymnasium. CSM trailed by five points (46-41) midway through the second half, but clawed back and knotted the game at 54-54 with 28 seconds to play as sophomore forward Ben Mohr hit 1-of-2 free throws. FLC had a chance to win the game, but Ryan Johnson’s jumper was no good. CSM took a 60-55 lead with 1:40 to play in overtime, but saw the Skyhawks cut it to 60-58 on a three-point play from Gerald Bryant. After a CSM free throw, the Skyhawks again sliced the lead to one (61-60) on a layup from Johnson. The Orediggers had a chance to extend the lead, but could not convert and Johnson hit another layup to give the Skyhawks a 62-61 lead and Guy Meyer hit 1-of-2 free throws with 3.9 seconds left to preserve the win. CSM was led by junior center Ian Elseth who scored 15 points and added six rebounds. Junior center Clayton Moores added four points, a game-best nine rebounds and five assists, while freshman guard Kyle Pape tallied 13 points and seven boards. Tim Bieri scored 15 points for the Skyhawks.

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 finished the 2005-06 season at 8-6 in Volk Gymnasium. 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 10.7 points per game and has dished out a team-best 105 assists compared to 55 turnovers. Test has scored in double figures in 10 of the last 14 games, including a career-best 21 points in a Jan. 31 loss to Colorado Christian. He is fifth in the RMAC in assists (3.8 apg), seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.444), ninth in steals (41) and third in three pointers made (44).

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, joining Stephen Bahl (2001-02) and Kevin Wagstaff (2002-03). Mohr has missed the last nine games and 10 of the last 11 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 10.5 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 13.5 points per game over the last eight games, including a career-high 26 in Friday’s win over Regis.

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 a Feb. 18 upset of Nebraska-Kearney as he totaled 11 points, seven boards and a career-best seven blocks.

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 15.3 points over the last 21 games (321 total), including 19 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 13.6 points per game (11th in the RMAC) and is a strong candidate for RMAC Freshman of the Year as he is also averaging 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 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 eight times and has 16 double digit scoring games. Elseth leads the RMAC in field goal percentage (.595), is 16th 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 12 games, including the last nine and 10 of the last 11 overall.

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 48 blocked shots (1.8 bpg) following his seven block performance on Feb. 18 against UNK. Iverson ranks third with 42 blocks (1.6 bpg). As a team, CSM ranks first in the conference with 114 total (4.2 bpg).

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 82 games during his career and has averaged 6.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots per game. He has tallied 560 career points, 413 career rebounds and 91 career blocked shots.

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 8-4 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.

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.

D ... D ... D ... DEFENSE!!: The Orediggers are proving that defense does indeed win games. CSM is holding its opponents to 42 percent shooting from the floor and just 64.1 points per game. In addition, the Orediggers are among the nation’s best with 114 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 7-1 when it scores at least 70 points. In contrast, the Orediggers are just 6-11 when scoring less than 70 points. CSM is 4-5 when it scores 59 points or less and just 2-7 when it scores between 60-69 points.

STAYING CONSISTENT: CSM has been fairly consistent all season long as it has not had a winning streak longer than three games (two times) and has not endured a losing streak of longer than two games (five times).

TALKIN’ TOURNEY: For the second straight year, CSM will enter the RMAC Shootout as the No. 7 seed and travel to second-seeded Fort Lewis. Below is a complete list of tournament games.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006 (Quarterfinals) - at Campus of higher seeds
#8 New Mexico Highlands at #1 Fort Hays State 8:00 pm
#5 Mesa State at #4 Metro State 7:00 pm
#6 Adams State at #3 Nebraska-Kearney 8:00 pm
#7 Colorado School of Mines at #2 Fort Lewis 8:00 pm

SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 2006 (Semifinlas) - at Colo. State Fair Events Center (Pueblo)
N.M. Highlands/Fort Hays State winner vs. Mesa State/Metro State winner 12:00 pm
Adams State/Nebraska-Kearney winner vs. Colorado School of Mines/Fort Lewis winner 4:00 pm

SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2006 (Finals) - at Colorado State Fair Events Center (Pueblo, Colo.)
Semifinal winners 12:00 pm

CSM IN THE RMAC TOURNAMENT: CSM is 2-7 all-time in the RMAC Tournament and has not won a game in the RMAC Tournament since 1996. Following is a complete history of CSM in the RMAC Tournament. Raul Varela made the All-Tournament Teams in 1994 and 1996, the only player from CSM to garner that honor in program history.

2005 - #2 Fort Lewis 75, #7 Colorado School of Mines 42 (First Round)
2003 - #4 Fort Hays State 82, #5 Colorado School of Mines 69 (First Round)
2001 - #2 Mesa State 85, #7 Colorado School of Mines 55 (First Round)
1996 - #5 Colorado School of Mines 83, #4 Adams State 82 (First Round)
1996 - #1 Fort Hays State 81, #5 Colorado School of Mines 61 (Semifinals)
1995 - #2 Nebraska-Kearney 106, #7 Colorado School of Mines 66 (First Round)
1994 - #7 Colorado School of Mines 71, #2 Chadron State 68 (First Round)
1994 - #3 Fort Hays State 91, #7 Colorado School of Mines 74 (Semifinals)
1993 - #3 Chadron State 95, #6 Colorado School of Mines 83 (First Round)