Mines Athletics
Tim Flynn
GOLDEN – No. 1 Colorado School of Mines blew past Regis with a 49-point second half, improving to 10-0 with an 84-52 win at Lockridge Arena.
The Orediggers (10-0, 9-0 RMAC) were again red-hot on offense shooting .615 overall and draining nine three-pointers. Their defense did the rest, holding the Rangers (3-7, 3-7 RMAC) to just 52 points on .345 shooting.
Brendan Sullivan led the way for Mines with 19 points – all in the second half – while Kobi Betts poured in 15 with a game-high six rebounds and Ben Boone chipped in 12. Regis’ Brian Dawson led all scorers with 20, and Troy Brady was the only other Ranger in double digits at 10.
Neither team could miss to start the game, and Mines didn’t start to control the game until a Betts three-pointer seven minutes in sparked a 7-1 run to lead 22-13. The advantage would grow to as much as 12, but Brady’s three-pointer, combined with ten first-half giveaways by Mines, kept Regis in contact down 35-26 at the half.
Things would rapidly shift in Mines’ favor after the break. Emerging from a scoreless first half, Sullivan caught fire in the second, draining 12 points in less than eight minutes amidst a 23-7 Mines run to open the half. That turned the nine-point lead into a 58-33 advantage by the 12:11 mark, and Sullivan would moments later score seven points in a 9-0 run to make it 67-41; even with the bench clearing out at the under-4 media timeout, the Orediggers would go on to win by their largest lead of the game, 32 points, at 84-52.
Michael Glen became the third player in program history to reach 150 career blocks with his two swats. Glen is 12 behind Trevor Wages for the Mines record. Mines matched its season high with seven blocks.
Mines drew Regis’ all-time series lead to only one game, 68-67, dating back to 1925. Sweeping the season series, Mines allowed just 50 and 52 points to the Rangers this season.
Mines hosts another local rival, MSU Denver, on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The two opened the season in a non-conference game that Mines won 82-48.