Colorado School of Mines vs. Colorado State-Pueblo
Saturday, January 14, 2006 - 8:00 pm
Golden, Colo.

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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 53-70, including a 31-51 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. 9.5 3.1 3.7
3 Kyle Pape SG 6-2 Fr. Honolulu, Hawaii 14.1 3.2 2.7
23 Franklin Ryk SF 6-4 Jr. Fort Collins, Colo. 8.9 4.5 1.7
52 Davey Iverson PF 6-6 Jr. Winnett, Mont. 6.9 5.4 1.4
44 Ian Elseth C 6-8 Jr. Grants Pass, Ore. 12.4 5.7 1.4

No. Off the Bench Pos Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
5 Casey O’Hayre G 5-11 Fr. Littleton, Colo. 1.0 0.8 0.5
11 Troy Sandley G 6-4 Fr. Eltham, Austrailia 1.7 0.3 0.2
20 Alex Hayman G 6-4 So. Sydney, Austrailia 2.6 1.6 0.9
22 Bill Hadley G 6-0 Sr. Littleton, Colo. 1.2 0.9 0.8
30 Matt Witwer F 6-5 So. Minot, N.D. 0.5 0.3 0.5
31 Grant Gunhus G 6-3 Fr. Fargo, N.D. 2.5 0.9 0.2
32 Ryan McKay F 6-8 So. Halstead, Kan. 0.3 0.3 0.5
33 Clayton Moores C 6-8 Jr. Denver, Colo. 4.9 3.9 1.0
40 Cody Clickner F 6-8 RFR Denver, Colo. 0.4 1.2 0.2
42 Ben Mohr F 6-6 So. Colo. Springs, Colo. 7.8 3.2 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 travel to Metro State on Jan. 21 for a 7:00 pm game and then head to Regis the following night for a 7:30 pm tipoff.

LAST WEEK: CSM split a pair of RMAC road games. On Thursday, the Orediggers fell at New Mexico Highlands, 73-69, before rebounding to win at UCCS, 96-67, on Saturday night.

AGAINST NMHU (1/5): The Colorado School of Mines men’s basketball team slipped to 6-7 overall and 1-4 in conference play with a 73-69 setback at New Mexico Highlands. CSM, which trailed 30-27 at the half, was led by freshman guard Kyle Pape who scored a game-best 22 points and added four assists. Junior center Ian Elseth added 11 points and nine boards, while junior center Clayton Moores chipped in six points and eight boards.

AGAINST UCCS (1/7): Colorado School of Mines freshman guard Kyle Pape hit the 20-point mark for the fifth straight game and three other Orediggers scored in double figures as CSM handed UC-Colorado Springs a 96-67 setback at The Lions’ Den. Junior center Ian Elseth added 17 points and three boards, while senior guard Travis Test chipped in 12 points, six boards and three assists. Freshman guard Grant Gunhus scored a career-high 11 points as he hit 3-of-4 three pointers.

ABOUT CSU-PUEBLO: The Thunderwolves are 5-8 overall and 1-4 in the RMAC following losses to Metro State (65-54) and Regis (53-47) last weekend at home. CSU-Pueblo has lost three straight and five of its last six overall. Steve Raquet leads the team in scoring (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (12.0 rpg) this season, while Brian Wood averages 10.8 points and 5.4 boards per night. As a team, CSU-Pueblo shoots 43 percent from the floor, 35 percent from three-point land and 62 percent from the free throw 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 4-3 at Volk Gymnasium this season and has lost three in a row at home. 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 3-13 over its last 16 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 9.5 points per game and has dished out a team-best 52 assists compared to only 25 turnovers. His 2.08 assist to turnover ratio is sixth best in the conference. Test has scored in double figures in six of the last 11 games, including a career high 16 points in a Dec. 10 win at Western State. He is ninth in the RMAC in assists (3.7 apg) and 14th in steals (1.6 spg).

LESS IS NOT MOHR: Sophomore forward Ben Mohr returns after earning 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 is providing a spark off the CSM bench this season averaging 7.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per night.

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 8.9 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.

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 69 games during his career and has averaged 6.5 points and 5.6 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 14 games this season.

WE WANT MOORES: Junior center Clayton Moores has given the Orediggers a spark off the bench as he is averaging 4.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game off the bench. He has grabbed at least five rebounds in five games this year and dished out a career-best five assists in a loss to Fort Lewis on Dec. 16.

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-5 of the RMAC in blocked shots. Iverson is second with 23 blocks (1.7 bpg), while Moores is fifth with 18 blocked shots (1.3 bpg). As a team, CSM is ranked first in the RMAC in blocked shots with 54 (3.9 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 18.0 points over the last ten games (180 total), including nine in double figures. Pape has scored at least 20 points in five straight games and is averaging 23.6 points per game over that stretch, which includes a career-high 29 points in a loss to North Dakota on Dec. 30. Pape is leading the team in scoring at 14.1 points per game, which puts him 8th in the RMAC. In addition to his scoring, he is averaging 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game over the last six. He has led the team in scoring the last five games and seven 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 (12.4 ppg) and tops in rebounding (5.7 rpg). He has led the team in scoring four times and has a team-best 10 double digit scoring games. Elseth ranks second in the RMAC in field goal percentage (.645), 14th in rebounding and 18th in scoring.

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 had his best game to date in Saturday’s win over UCCS as he tallied four points, two assists and a steal in 17 minutes.

GRANT’S GOOD WEEK: Freshman guard Grant Gunhus had his best two games last weekend. In Thursday’s loss at N.M. Highlands, he posted a career-best eight points and topped that in Saturday’s 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 4-2 in games decided by 11 points or more and just 2-5 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.

STARTING TEAM USA: The five probable starters for CSM all hail from different states; Colorado, Hawaii, Nebraska, Montana and Oregon.