GOLDEN, Colo - MSU Denver loses second conference game in a row dropping a 70-66 nail-biter against the No. 1 team in the RMAC in the Colorado School of Mines.
 
Roadrunners brought the fight on the road vs the Orediggers. Both teams showed immense amounts of tenacity and toughness as each battled through hard fouls and physical play. The starting frontcourt of Caleb McGill and Brayden Carter combined for a dozen points in the first half.  It was a defensive battle as the No. 2 and No. 4 scoring teams in the RMAC were both held below their season average. The Roadrunners came out with a different look tonight, as Sufyan Elkannan got his first start of the season. Majok Deng, the RMAC's eighth leading scorer, was held to just three points at the half. McGill led the charge defensively for MSU Denver as he had three blocks. The Roadrunners carried the led into the half at 36-31.
 
The Orediggers came out firing to begin the second half, as they opened up on a 9-3 run to take a 40-39 before Brayden Carter slowed the storm with a tough contested layup to get the Roadrunners back up at 41-40. Deng began to heat up with six quick points off two triples that helped lead to a 45-41 Mines lead at the under 16 timeout. 
The Colorado School of Mines took their largest lead of the game with just under nine minutes remaining 59-51. 
 
The Roadrunners looked poised to take back the lead in the second half after going on a 7-0 run before Mines blocked a K.J. Garrett layup and came back down with a contested finish in traffic to give them some cushion, 61-58, heading into the under four timeout. Jamil Safieddine would eventually hit two big threes with under 90 seconds left to give MSU a 66-63 lead before Mines finished the game on a 7-0 run to end it 70-66. MSU Denver shot just 29% from three, a far cry from their season average of 38%.

MSU got back to what made them so successful this season and held the Orediggers to under 40% from the field. Coach Ficke loved the intensity on that end of the court, unfortunately MSU Denver were not able to climb over that hill as fatigue looked to play a part as the Roadrunners finished their 4th games in seven days and shot 52% from the free throw line tonight. MSU Denver had plenty of chances to take the lead in the second half but Coach Ficke echoed how proud he was of his squad for fighting hard all night and gaining back some of that identity that had been absent the last two contests vs UC-Colorado Springs and Regis University. 

While this is one of those games that the Roadrunners would've loved to steal, it just wasn't meant to be. However there are lots of positives to take away that won't show up in the box score. MSU Denver responded after being punched in the mouth early.  Toughness and grit were two things that looked absent Tuesday in the loss vs Regis, but tonight after going down 59-51 MSU Denver slowed the game down and eventually clawed their way back. Yes, they shot poorly from three and did not convert at the free throw line when it mattered. But, they showed heart and showed that they belong and can compete with anyone even on their poorer offensive showings.  Ryan Maslow demonstrated how much of a leader in the locker room he is and volunteered to come off the bench to give the Roadrunners a much-needed defensive boost when the starters take a rest. Roadrunner nation is looking forward to seeing them play back at home next Thursday, January 30th vs New Mexico Highlands at the Auraria Events Center. 
 
These two teams will match up again on February 18th at the Auraria Events Center.