Story Links
#10 Mines (0-3) at #25 Lubbock Christian (2-0) – Friday, 7 p.m. CT – Lubbock, Texas [Live Stats] [FloCollege PPV]
#10 Mines (0-3) at #RV St. Mary’s (TX) (0-0) – Sunday, 12 p.m. CT – San Antonio, Texas [Live Stats] [FloCollege PPV]
LONE STAR SHOWDOWN
Still seeking their first win of the new season, the preseason #10 team in the country Colorado School of Mines heads to the Lone Star State this weekend for regional crossover action against #25 Lubbock Christian Friday night before taking on #RV St. Mary’s (TX) Sunday afternoon.
LIVE COVERAGE
This weekend’s games will be streamed on a pay-per-view basis on Flo College. Links for video and stats for all games can be found on minesathletics.com.
AT THE HELM
The 2025-26 season will be the 25th for the Orediggers under the guidance of head coach Pryor Orser. The winningest coach in the history of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Orser’s record stands at 474-235 overall and a mark of 335-157 in league play. Under Orser, Mines has won six RMAC regular-season championships and three RMAC Tournament titles and qualified for 14 NCAA Tournaments including two Elite Eight trips.
IN THE POLLS
Mines was picked to finish second in the RMAC this season in the preseason coaches poll announced in late October. Black Hills State was the favorite to win while the top five behind Mines included Colorado Mesa, UCCS and Fort Lewis.
Nationally, Mines was voted 10th in the NABC Division II Preseason Coaches Poll. Defending national champs Nova Southeastern opened the season at #1 followed by Washburn, Dallas Baptist, Daemen and Fairmont State.
WEEK 1 RECAP
Mines opened their 2025-26 season last weekend at the D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the Trailhead and came up snake eyes in each other their three games against Central Missouri, Nebraska-Kearney and Angelo State by scores of 96-84, 85-76 and 74-66. Markus Pastorcic-Straun was named to the All-Tournament for his performances over the weekend, as he went for 22 against UCM on opening day and 32 against UNK while posting 16 rebounds and 16 assists on the weekend. Alex Romack matched his total number of double-doubles from all of last season in the first two games this year, going for 16 points and 11 boards Saturday against UNK before ending the weekend with 13 and 13 against Angelo State. Some new faces also shined as Will Cordonnier went for 14 off the bench against UNK Saturday while Will Essman just missed a double-double with 11 points and eight boards in his first career start Sunday against ASU.
HELLO THERE
A total of nine newcomers join the Orediggers this season as the defending champs look to reload for 2025-26. Get to know Jackson Brennan, Will Essman, Shelton Henton, Kellon Johnson, Kasen Lehman, Trent Minter, Cooper Mroczek, Ryan Pramenko and Gil Schayes here.
NEW-LOOK OREDIGGERS
With the departure of seven players from last year’s championship-winning squad, the Orediggers will look significantly different heading into the 2025-26 season. Alex Romack and Jonathan Moore each started at different times throughout the season while Markus Pastorcic-Straun came off the bench to post a breakout season as a sophomore. That core trio is joined by returners Caleb Clark, Dom Girish, Silas McCurnin and Derek Lamb who will all look to take on larger roles this fall. A trio of young bucks who redshirted last fall are also eager to make an impact this season as Braydon Jacob, Matija Jordovic and Will Cordonnier will play a role in the rotation as well. Combined with the nine newcomers listed above, Mines isn’t looking to rebuild this season, but rather reload for another run at the top of the RMAC.
PRESEASON HONORS
Along with the release of last month’s preseason poll, the RMAC announced preseason All-Conference teams and saw the duo of Mines juniors Markus Pastorcic-Straun and Alex Romack earn honors heading into the season. Pastorcic-Straun was a Second Team honoree last fall following a breakout season in which he netted 11.0 PPG off the bench and was second on the team with 90 assists. Romack followed up his Freshman of the Year campaign with Honorable Mention honors as a sophomore as he averaged 3.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting .594 from the floor.
ON THE MARK
Stepping into a new role as a full-time starter this year, Markus Pastoric-Straun started off his third season at Mines with a bang. The junior from Ontario dropped 22 points on 6-14 shooting with five assists, four rebounds and three steals on opening day against Central Missouri. He followed that up with the first 30-ball of his career, going for 32 on 12-17 shooting against Nebraska-Kearney with seven boards, six dimes and two more steals. He then finished the weekend with 19/5/5 against Angelo State. In the absence of names like Majok Deng, Cade Mankle and Grant Pressly, Pastorcic-Straun is sure to be one who will look to fill that production void as the season moves on.
DOUBLING IT UP
Alex Romack opened his junior season on a high note as well, recording two double-doubles in the final two games of the weekend. Saturday against Nebraska-Kearney, the Hoosier went for 16 points and 11 boards and followed that up Sunday with 13 and 13 with three dimes, a block and a steal against Angelo State. While known to put up some respectable and consistent numbers in his first two seasons, Romack hasn’t necessarily been a double-double machine as he recorded just two last year and already matched that this year. If his early season production is anything to go by, he might be poised to pass his career-best mark of six double-doubles he turned in during his Freshman of the Year season in 2023-24.
SHOWING POTENTIAL
Fans need not be distraught by the 0-3 start to the fall after seeing Mines drop just five games a season ago. At times this weekend, the five on the floor for the Orediggers was comprised players playing their first career games while at the collegiate level while at other times, there was just one players with significant experience at this level. Several new names posted big games, such as Will Cordonnier and Will Essman while Shelton Henton, Braydon Jacob and Trent Minter also showed flashes at times. Despite the results, the Orediggers and the coaching staff are confident that the results will come the more games a new-look group gets under their belts.
FOR ALL TIME
Ahead of his 25th season leading the Orediggers, head coach Pryor Orser has seen a thing or two and is subsequently no stranger to milestone moments and record-setting success. On January 20 of the 2023-24 season, the legendary coach added another to his list of accomplishments, becoming the winningest coach in terms of conference wins in the history of the RMAC with 310 and counting. Just weeks later in February, Orser broke another conference record, this time for the most overall wins by a head coach in league history with a 74-56 win over Chadron State, giving him 442 for his career to again pass the great Bob Hofman who made a mark on RMAC history at Fort Lewis and Western Colorado over his 24 seasons between the two institutions. With seemingly no plans to hang it up anytime soon and enjoying another successful season this year, Orser has the potential to set a record that could stand for just as long, if not longer, than the previous mark as another point on an already remarkable resume in a coaching career matched by only a few.
BUTKOVICH INDUCTED TO MINES HOF
The first All-American in program history, Joe Butkovich was inducted earlier this fall to the Harry D. Campbell Mines Hall of Fame. A prolific scorer and rebounder in the post, Butkovich was named an all-American as a senior in 1971-72, the Orediggers’ first national honoree. Upon the conclusion of his career, Butkovich was Mines’ all-time rebounding leader with 891 and third on Mines’ all-time scoring list with 1,641 points. More than 50 years after graduating, he still owns Mines’ career and season per-game rebounding records of 11.7 and 12.3 (1970-71) rebounds per game, respectively, and he also set the record (since broken) for season scoring average with 24.9 points per game in 1971-72; today he ranks third in that category. That senior season saw him lead the RMAC in scoring and rank among the NCAA and NAIA national leaders in both scoring and rebounding, and his top individual games were a 37-point night against Western New Mexico (the Mines single-game record at the time) and 20 rebounds against UMKC.
Butkovich earned his degree in engineering from Mines in 1972. His post-collegiate basketball career included tryouts with the Denver Nuggets and Chicago Bulls, and he played professionally in France and Belgium before returning stateside to work as an engineer, spending much of his career dismantling chemical weapons across the United States.
CHECKING THE STATS
Three games in, Markus Pastorcic-Straun leads the Orediggers in scoring at 24.3 PPG on .558 shooting with 16 assists, five steals and 22 free throws. Alex Romack is almost averaging a double-double at 13.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game with five times and three steals while shooting .500 from the floor. Will Cordonnier is shooting .357 from the floor and .375 with a team-leading six three-pointers on his way to 9.3 PPG with three steals and two blocks. Will Essman enters the week scoring 9.0 PPG and pulling in 5.5 RPG on .375 shooting including .400 from deep.
Jonathan Moore played in just one game last weekend but dropped 22 points along the way on 7-9 shooting as he looks to shake off an early bump. Shelton Henton and Braydon Jacob have each made four three-pointers in the early going and are averaging 5.3 and 4.7 PPG with seven and four assists respectively. Trent Minter has four assists, three steals and a block while Derek Lamb has a pair of blocks.
Through three games, Mines is averaging 75.3 PPG and shooting .418/.329/.635 with 39.3 rebounds and 14.7 assists per game. Turnovers were problematic opening weekend as they are -7.0 in turnover margin at 13.7 per game, but are +1.1 in assist/turnover ratio and average 7.7 PPG off turnovers. Defensively the Orediggers are averaging 6.3 steals and 2.7 blocks per game.
SCOUTING LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN
Lubbock Christian stands at 2-0 on the season and was one of the first teams to tip off this fall, doing so the first weekend of the month at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Lakeland, Florida. There the Chaps made light work of their opponents UVA Wise and Augusta, coasting to 90-52 and 96-69 wins before being idle last week. Last season, LCU went 25-9 overall and 18-4 in the Lone Star Conference, losing in their conference tournament title game before being bounced from the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship in the opening round by St. Mary’s (TX).
LCU returns just five players off last year’s 25-win team, but those four bring back a wealth of experience on a roster that features eight newcomers. A face familiar to the Orediggers, Fort Lewis transfer Amondo Miller Jr. is off to a big start on the season, averaging 28.0 PPG on .656 shooting from the floor with 8.5 RPG and leads the team with four steals he’s also 11-15 from the free throw line and accounts for 55% of the team’s free throws through two games. Alex Anamekwe checks in as one of two players averaging a double-double in the early going at 16.5 points and 10.0 rebounds on .481 shooting from the floor and .429 from deep with six treys, tied for the team lead along with three blocks.
One of the newcomers Antonio Pusateri is also averaging a double-double with 15.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game with six assists and is shooting .600 from the floor. Returner Kendall Dow is scoring 12.5 per night on .692 shooting and is 6-8 from downtown. Lucas Mercandino, a LaSalle transfer, is scoring 9.0 PPG on .462 shooting while freshman Longwood transfer Leo Nordberg leads the team with 10 assists while scoring 4.5 per night and shooting .400.
Through two games, LCU is averaging 93.0 PPG and is +32.5 in scoring margin while shooting .563/.468/.667. They are pulling down 43.5 rebounds per game and dishing out18.5 rebounds per game. The Chaps turn it over 10.5 times per game and are +1.8 in assist/turnover ratio while scoring 18.0 PPG off turnovers. Defensively, they are averaging 7.5 steals and 2.0 blocks per game.
SCOUTING ST. MARY’S (TX)
The Rams tip off their 2025-26 season Friday night against Regis. Angelo State went 20-11 overall and 16-6 in the Lone Star Conference last year and advanced to second round of the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship before seeing their season end at the hand of the Orediggers.
Six returners lead a Rattlers roster this fall that welcomes nine transfers this season. Leading scorer Damani Claxton is back following a year in which he averaged 17.1 PPG with 91 assists and 49 steals on .464/363/.804 shooting. Division I transfer Sebastian Mendoza turned in a successful first season in San Antonio, started 27 times and averaging 6.9 PPG with 46 assists, 17 steals and 13 blocks while shooting .448 from the floor and .375 from three. Wayne Wiggins filled a swingman role last season and is back after averaging 8.0 PPG off the bench with 51 assists on .419/.313/.727 shooting. Eddie McPhee is also back after averaging 5.3 PPG last fall in a mostly starting role along with 4.2 RPG, 28 steals and 13 blocks. Lawyer Jones will look to build off a freshman season in which he averaged 3.6 PPG and shot .322 while Carson Bindseil rounds out the returners.
Transfers to watch include Olaverr Camacho (Texas A&M International), Freddie Cooper (Cal State Fullerton), JJ Walton (Chipola JC), Savon Myers (Redlands CC) and Justin Britt (Tallahassee State CC).
Last season, the Rattler averaged 73.5 PPG and shot .446/.302/.627 as a team. They averaged 39.1 rebounds and 14.1 assists per game while turning it over 12.9 times per night. They were +1.1 in assist/turnover ratio and averaged 16.3 PPG off turnovers. Defensively St. Mary’s averaged 8.0 steals and 3.6 blocks per game.
SERIES HISTORY
Friday night will be the 12th all-time meeting between Mines and Lubbock Christian with the Orediggers holding a 6-5 edge in the first 11 matchups. Last season LCU came to Lockridge Arena during crossover weekend and posted an 89-78 win in Golden. Friday will be just the third meeting in Lubbock, where the teams have split the first two meetings. In five all-time meetings in the state of Texas, Mines is 2-3 but did come away with a 61-59 win in San Antonio in the 2023-24 season.
Sunday will likewise be the 12th meeting between the Orediggers and Rattlers, with Mines owning an 8-3 lead in the series. Last year the teams met twice, first during crossover weekend in Golden which resulted in an 83-63 win for Mines followed by a matchup in the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship in which the Orediggers advanced with a 66-63 win. Sunday will also be just the third meeting in San Antonio, a place where the teams have split the previous two meetings. When play St. Mary’s in the state of Texas, the Orediggers are 3-2 in five matchups.
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines takes the court at Lockridge Arena for the first time this season next weekend when they host UT Dallas and UT Tyler November 21 and 22. Friday night’s game against the Comets will see the Orediggers celebrate their 2024-25 RMAC Championships with the presentation of championship rings.
Fans can keep up with Mines men’s basketball on X and Instagram at @minesmbb. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, X and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.
