Pueblo – The latest edition of the Colorado Mines vs. Nebraska Kearney series was no contest, courtesy of the Lopers’ field-goal shooting.
Their 53.8 percent first-half mark forged a 16-point lead that was not threatened en route to a 74-61 victory Saturday in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Shootout at the Colorado State Fair Events Center.
The last time the teams met, Mines posted a 13-point victory by controlling the paint and blocking 12 shots (seven by Clayton Moores).
This time, the third-seeded Lopers (22-7) had only three shots blocked and made open looks count with first-team all-RMAC selection Dusty Jura producing a game-high 25 points with seven rebounds and four steals. Former University of Denver guard James Lane scored 17 on 6-for-8 field goal shooting and a team-leading five assists, and Chad Burger had 13 points and six rebounds.
“Kearney was just terrific,” said Mines coach Pyror Orser.
The Lopers, who finished shooting 51.9 from the field with 11 assists, led by as many as 23 points (56-33).
Mines, which had traveled Wednesday night to Durango to upset second-seeded Fort Lewis, 72-71, didn’t have another upset in its arsenal. The Orediggers traveled by bus through the night, arriving home at 5 a.m. Thursday, just three hours before classes.
“That’s us,” Orser said. “At School of Mines, you can’t miss class because all the teaching is progressive. It may have hurt our performance, but we don’t make excuses. We’re students first.”
With the end to their injury-plagued season, the Orediggers (15-14) were mindful of the bright spots: ending Metro State’s 47-game home winning streak and advancing to the RMAC second round for the first time since 1996.
“Colorado School of Mines is known as engineering students playing basketball,” RMAC freshman of the year Kyle Pape said. “Hopefully, we can turn it around and be known as basketball players and also engineers.”
Pape scored 20 points and Franklin Ryk hit for 19.
