Denver, Colorado- The Regis men's basketball team played host to the #13 ranked team in the land tonight, the Colorado Mines Orediggers. Although the Rangers were able to stick with the highly ranked team in the first half, the Orediggers were ready to put on a pounding after their loss to #11 Metro State the night before. Colorado Mines did just that in the second half putting up 50 points and cruised their way to an 86-47 win.

The Orediggers jumped off to a quick 8-0 lead in the first minute and forty seconds, but just like the night before against CCU, the Rangers were able to keep their opponents lead at a manageable distance. Regis pulled within one point just four minutes later with a two-point jumper from freshman guard Will Duggan. It looked as though the Rangers were going to be able to make the game interesting as still only trailed by four, 15-19, with 8:24 to go in the first half. Unfortunately, from there Colorado Mines started to speed things up and closed out the half with 16 points to Regis' 7. The two teams headed to the locker rooms at half with the Orediggers leading 36-24.

In the second half, it seemed as though everything was going right for Colorado Mines and nothing was going right for Regis. By half way through the second, the Orediggers had extended their lead to 65-33. There just did not seem to be anything the Rangers could do on defense to stop their opponents who possess multiple offensive weapons. Four players for Colorado Mines ended up in double figures for point totals.

On the Ranger's side, freshman center Chris Snyder led his team in points with 11. Senior forward Brett Hartshorne finished with eight points and freshman guard Will Duggan put up nine. By far, the biggest detriment to the Rangers game tonight was the 16 turnovers; too many of those were unforced and resulted in quick transition points for Colorado Mines.

Regis will get a little bit of break next week, as they only have to play one game and it will be at home. The not so enjoyable side to that is they will be facing off against crosstown rival and highly ranked Metro State. It will certainly be a tall-task for the Rangers to take them down considering the Roadrunners are 14-2 in their last 16 games, but there is always the chance for an upset on any given night.

That game is set for a 5 pm tip-off next Saturday at Regis Fieldhouse.