Colorado School of Mines vs. Johnson & Wales
Tuesday, January 23, 2007 - 7:00 pm
Golden, Colo. - Volk Gym

Colorado School of Mines vs. Chadron State
Friday, January 26, 2007 - 8:00 pm
Golden, Colo. - Volk Gym

Colorado School of Mines vs. Nebraska-Kearney
Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 8:00 pm
Golden, Colo. - Volk Gym

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THE HEAD COACH: Pryor Orser is in his sixth year as the head coach of the Colorado School of Mines men’s basketball team. He claims an overall record of 69-85, including a 41-63 mark in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games. Last season, Orser led the Orediggers to a 15-14 record and a berth in the semifinals of the RMAC Shootout. for the first time since 1996. CSM’s win at Fort Lewis in the quarterfinals marked the first Oredigger win in the tournament since 1996. It was also the third time in the last four years that Orser led CSM to the RMAC Shootout Tournament. Orser has coached a total of 14 All-Conference players at CSM, including four Freshmen of the Year, most recently Kyle Pape a season ago. In addition, he has coached an All-Region and All-American player in Stephen Bahl. 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
3 Kyle Pape G 6-2 So. Iolani, Hawaii 14.1 3.6 2.7
5 Casey O’Hayre G 5-11 So. Littleton, Colo. 4.6 1.7 2.6
23 Franklin Ryk G 6-4 Sr. Fort Collins, Colo. 11.2 3.1 1.9
44 Ian Elseth F 6-8 Sr. Grants Pass, Ore. 12.0 5.9 0.6
52 Davey Iverson F 6-6 Sr. Winnett, Mont. 6.4 4.1 1.5

No. Off the Bench Pos Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
10 Robert Trujillo G 5-9 Fr. Denver, Colo. 1.0 0.4 0.4
22 Garrett Mehl G 6-2 Sr. Crete, Neb. 0.6 0.9 0.9
31 Grant Gunhus G 6-3 So. Fargo, N.D. 6.3 2.1 1.1
33 Clayton Moores F 6-8 Sr. Denver, Colo. 5.0 6.6 1.1
42 Ben Mohr C 6-6 Jr. Colo. Springs, Colo. 5.5 4.0 1.8
55 Danny Iverson C 6-9 So. Winnett, Mont. 1.1 1.3 0.1

CSM PICKED THIRD IN RMAC PRESEASON POLL: The Colorado School of Mines men’s basketball team was picked third in the 2006-07 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball East Division Preseason Poll. The Orediggers received 41 total points to finish behind East Division favorite Nebraska-Kearney and runner-up Metro State. CSM was followed by Regis, Colorado Christian, Chadron State and UC-Colorado Springs.

UP NEXT: CSM will stay home for a pair of games next weekend. On Feb. 2, the Orediggers will host UC-Colorado Springs and on Feb. 3rd, CSM will host Regis. Both games are at 8:00 pm in Volk Gym.

LAST WEEK: The Orediggers dropped a pair of road games. On Friday night, CSM fell at 11th-ranked Metro State, 64-48. The following night, CSM lost at Colorado Christian, 67-51. Senior forward Ian Elseth scored 15 points and grabbed seven boards in the loss at Metro, while sophomore guard Kyle Pape tallied a game-high 21 points in the loss at CCU.

ABOUT JOHNSON & WALES: The Wildcats are 3-16 overall this season. On Saturday night, J&W fell at Utah Valley State. The Wildcats have lost to RMAC teams Regis, Western State, Metro State, Fort Lewis, Mesa State and Colorado Christian. J&W did defeat Mesa State, 89-87, on Dec. 18 to split their two-game series this year.

ABOUT CHADRON STATE: The Eagles enter the week at 3-12 overall (2-7 RMAC) and host Nebraska-Kearney on Tuesday night. Marcus Ligons leads the team in scoring (20.1 ppg) and rebounding (8.1), while Theo Donley (11.1 ppg) and Kody Christensen (10.2 ppg) also score in double figures. As a team, the Eagles shoot 44 percent from the field, 34 percent from three-point land and 65 percent at the foul line.

ABOUT NEBRASKA-KEARNEY: The Lopers are 13-3 overall and tied for first in the RMAC East Division at 8-1. The play at Chadron State Tuesday night. RMAC Preseason Player of the Year Dusty Jura leads the club in both scoring (18.6 ppg) and rebounding (9.5 rpg), while three other players average double digit points. The Lopers are shooting 49 percent from the field, 40 percent from three-point range and 71 percent from the charity stripe.

THE STYLIN’ HAWAIIAN: Sophomore guard and Hawaii native Kyle Pape was named to the Preseason All-RMAC East Division Team after earning RMAC Freshman of the Year and Honorable Mention All-RMAC East Division accolades last season. Pape scored a career-high 36 points in a Dec. 15 win over New Mexico Highlands, including 27 in the second half. He ranks 16th in the RMAC in scoring (14.1 ppg), , 9th in three-pointers made per game (2.3) and second in minutes (34.1 mpg). Pape hit a high arching shot in the lane at the buzzer to give CSM a 59-58 win over Adams State on Jan. 13.

BE LIKE RYK: Senior guard Franklin Ryk has picked up just as he finished the 2005-06 season when he averaged 14.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game over the final 10 games of the season. Ryk, who scored a season-best 21 points in a Dec. 16 win over Western New Mexico, is second on the team and 29th in the RMAC in scoring (11.2 ppg).

IN THE PAINT: Senior forward Ian Elseth will once again be counted on to score in the paint. Elseth, who missed the first five games due to injury, made his first appearance of the season on Dec. 7 at Western State. He tallied a career-best 25 points in a Dec. 30 win over St. Francis (Ill.) and has scored in double digits seven of the last nine games.

FAMILY TIES: Senior forward Davey Iverson is the older brother of sophomore center Danny Iverson. Davey is a three-year letterwinner at CSM, while Danny is coming of a season in which he redshirted. Davey ranks seventh in the RMAC in blocked shots (2.3 bpg).

GIVE US MOORES: Senior forward Clayton Moores has had a strong season as he is posting 5.0 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game, which ranks seventh in the RMAC. He has three double digit rebounding games, including a career-high tying 13 in the season opening win over Northwest Nazarene. Moores is also third in the conference in blocked shots (1.1 bpg).

AND EVEN MOHR: Junior forward Ben Mohr is averaging 5.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in 15 games this season. Mohr is back to 100 percent after missing the final nine regular season games last year and returning for the two RMAC Tournament games.

GRANT THE GUNNER: Sophomore guard Grant Gunhus has picked up his game from a year ago. In 19 minutes per game off the bench this year, Gunhus is averaging 6.3 points per game and is shooting 31 percent from three-point land. In a Dec. 1 win over S.D. Tech, Gunhus scored a career-high 17 points, all of which came in the second half. Last year, he averaged 2.0 points in just six minutes per game.

OUT OF THE PADS, ONTO THE COURT: Senior guard Garrett Mehl, the starting quarterback of the CSM football team in 2006, is part of the basketball team for the first time in his career. Mehl finished his football career with 3,057 passing yards and 18 touchdowns to go with 846 rush yards and 14 more TD’s.

CASEY ON THE COURT: Sophomore guard Casey O’Hayre has been solid since being pulled out of his redshirt year nine games into last season. O’Hayre, who scored a career-high 15 points in a Jan. 5 loss at Fort Lewis, is averaging 4.6 points and 1.7 rebounds. He is second on the team with 42 assists.

DIGGER “D”: The Orediggers have played some stout defense to open the season. The squad ranks first in the RMAC in scoring defense (62.1 ppg), blocked shots (3.5 bpg) and opponent field goal percentage (.424). CSM has allowed just two teams to break 70 points in a game this year.

HOME SWEET HOME: CSM’s loss to CSU-Pueblo on Jan. 12 was the first home loss for the Orediggers this season. CSM, which plays its next five games at home is now 7-1 at home this season. Two years ago, CSM was 15-1 at home. Overall, CSM has won 30 of its last 38 games in Volk Gym.