DENVER, Colo. - Despite scoring over half of the LCU points, a three by Rowan Mackenzie at the buzzer went just off the mark, and RV Colorado School of Mines knocked off no. 16/24 Lubbock Christian 69-66 to close out the Regis Conference Challenge on Saturday, Nov. 12.

The Chaps (1-1) came out hot, with two straight three-pointers by Mackenzie and another by Najeeb Muhammad falling early, giving LCU a 13-5 lead on the Orediggers (2-0) with 14:43 left in the 1st half. Makenzie added another two-point jumper to swell the Chaparral advantage to 15-6 with 14:03 left in the opening stanza.

LCU then went cold on offense, as Mines held the Chaps without a bucket for the next 5:32 of the game, as another Mackenzie jumper went in with 8:31 left in the first, but the lead was cut down to 17-11 for Lubbock Christian. 

A jumper by Kurt Wegscheider followed by two more Mackenzie buckets put the Chaps back ahead 28-22 with 1:35 left in the first half, but a pair of threes by Brendan Sullivan and Adam Thistlewood tied the game back up at 28 apiece with 24 seconds left. Wegscheider beat the buzzer for the first half with a three of his own, and LCU headed into the break with a 31-28 advantage.

LCU came out hot in the second half, with Aaron Gonzales hitting a three of his own before Wegscheider found the sophomore again in the paint to swell the Chap bulge to seven, but once again, Mines answered with a three, this time from Ben Boone, to cut the lead down to 38-34 with 17:49 left in the game.

After a layup by Russell Harrison with 14:36 left gave LCU a 45-36 lead, Mines would go on a mini 9-2 run, an Adam Krasovec layup cutting the lead down to 49-45 with 11:18 left. A three by Boone with 9:24 left sliced the Chap advantage to one, before Mackenzie hit another three with 8:44 left to push LCU ahead 55-51. Mackenzie then hit another three with 7:45 left to have the Chaps go up 58-53. 

The Orediggers then went on a 12-2 run, tying the game at 60 with 4:49 left with an emphatic dunk by Sam Beskind. A pair of free throws by Kai Barr gave Mines their first lead of the game since holding a 5-2 edge 2:07 into the first half, before a Boone layup swelled the lead to 65-60 with 3:04 left. 

A pair of free throws by Mackenzie got the Chaps within two with 1:05 left, but Beskind hit a clutch jumper with 43 seconds left to put the Diggers back up 67-63. 

Mackenzie hit a three with 12 seconds left to cut the Digger lead to 69-66. On the inbounds pass, the defense stepped up, with Mackenzie getting the ball back. The junior put up one last heave as the horn sounded, but it was off the mark and Colorado School of Mines survived to knock off Lubbock Christian 69-66.

Mackenzie scored 35 points, a new career-high, going 13-for-18 from the field and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. The Aussie also connected on seven three-pointers, also a career-high and just three away from tying the program single-game record of 10. His four steals were also a career-high.

Muhammad also had a solid second game in the blue and white, scoring 11 points, hauling down four rebounds and dishing out four assists. Wegscheider flirted with a double-double for the second night in a row, pulling down eight rebounds and scoring five points. 

Beskind lead the Orediggers with 16 points, shooting a perfect 7-for-7 from the field. 

The loss ends the Chaps' 18-game regular season nonconference game win streak. Oddly enough, it was the Orediggers who were the last nonconference team to beat LCU in the regular season, knocking off Lubbock Christian 75-47 on Nov. 9, 2019. 

LCU will have a week off before hitting the road again to renew an old rivalry with no. 12/25 Southern Nazarene in Bethany, Okla. on Nov. 19. Tip-off is set for 3 PM.