Colorado School of Mines vs. Texas A&M Commerce
Friday, December 29, 2006 - 5:00 pm
Denver, Colo. - Auraria Events Center

Colorado School of Mines vs. St. Francis (Ill.)
Saturday, December 30, 2006 - 6:00 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 66-80, including a 40-58 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 14.6 3.5 2.3
5 Casey O’Hayre G 5-11 So. Littleton, Colo. 4.9 1.5 2.5
23 Franklin Ryk G 6-4 Sr. Fort Collins, Colo. 13.5 3.0 2.7
33 Clayton Moores F 6-8 Sr. Denver, Colo. 5.9 8.1 0.9
44 Ian Elseth F 6-8 Sr. Grants Pass, Ore. 7.7 5.3 3.0

No. Off the Bench Pos Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
10 Robert Trujillo G 5-9 Fr. Denver, Colo. 1.0 0.7 0.6
20 Garrett Page G 6-2 Fr. Canton, Ill. 0.0 0.0 0.0
22 Garrett Mehl G 6-2 Sr. Crete, Neb. 0.9 1.0 0.3
31 Grant Gunhus G 6-3 So. Fargo, N.D. 8.5 2.5 1.1
32 Cody Clickner F 6-8 So. Westminster, Colo. 5.0 1.5 0.0
42 Ben Mohr C 6-6 Jr. Colo. Springs, Colo. 6.1 4.9 2.5
52 Davey Iverson F 6-6 Sr. Winnett, Mont. 7.4 4.4 1.0
55 Danny Iverson C 6-9 So. Winnett, Mont. 0.6 0.8 0.2

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 travel to Fort Lewis for an 8:00 pm game on Jan. 5. The following night, the Orediggers will play at Mesa State at 8:00 pm.

LAST WEEK: The Orediggers won a pair of games at home. On Dec. 15, CSM handed New Mexico Highlands a 70-60 setback as sophomore guard Kyle Pape scored a career-high 36 points. The next night, four players scored in double figures, led by senior guard Franklin Ryk’s 21, in a 79-50 win over Western New Mexico.

ABOUT TEXAS A&M COMMERCE: The Lions are 6-4 overall, but have not played since a 77-68 win over Eastern New Mexico on Dec. 9. Lamar Searight leads the team in scoring (19.5 ppg), rebounding (4.7 rpg), assists (47) and steals (25). Archie Beason posts 13.6 points and 4.3 boards per game, while Kevin Widemond chips in 13.4 points per game.

ABOUT ST. FRANCIS: The Fighting Saints are 6-6 overall and have won two straight, including an 80-77 win over Illinois-Springfield on Dec. 22. Mike Smith leads the team in scoring (17.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg), while Chris Hobson posts 17.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per night. Eric Epps has dished out a team-best 57 assists.

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 14th in the RMAC in scoring (14.6 ppg), 13th in steals (1.5 spg) and second in minutes played (34.4 mpg).

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 20th in the RMAC in scoring (13.5 ppg). He is also third in free throw percentage (19-20 for .950).

IN THE PAINT: Senior forward Ian Elseth will once again be counted on to control the paint. Last season, he led the team in rebounding (5.7 rpg) and posted a season-best 12 rebounds in a win over Chadron State on Jan. 28. 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 15 points and eight boards in the Dec. 16 win over Western New Mexico.

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 fourth in the RMAC in blocked shots (1.1 bpg).

GIVE US MOORES: Senior forward Clayton Moores has had a strong start to the season as he is posting 5.9 points and a team-best 8.2 rebounds per game, which ranks fourth 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 (1.4 bpg).

AND EVEN MOHR: Junior forward Ben Mohr is averaging 6.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and is tied for the team-lead with 20 assists in eight 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 22 minutes per game off the bench this year, Gunhus is averaging 8.5 points per game and is shooting 39 percent (13-33) 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 contest.

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 and 846 rushing yards and 14 more scores.

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. He is averaging 4.9 points and 1.5 rebounds. He leads the team with 20 assists and is second with nine steals.

SOMETHING CLICKED: Sophomore forward Cody Clickner was called upon during the Dec. 1 win over South Dakota Tech night due to foul trouble to several CSM big men and he responded in a big way. Clickner, who played six minutes off the bench, scored a career-high 10 points and added a career-best three rebounds. He hit 2-of-3 from three-point range and nailed both his free throws.

DIGGER “D”: The Orediggers have played some stout defense to open the season. The squad ranks first in the RMAC in scoring defense (58.9 ppg), blocked shots (3.88 bpg), opponent field goal percentage (.400) and opponent three-point field goal percentage (.344).