KEARNEY, Neb. - For the second straight game, #21 Colorado School of Mines won in the final minute as they outlasted Nebraska-Kearney 73-69 on the road.

The Orediggers improved to 4-0 thanks to a 7-0 run to end the game, flipping UNK's 69-66 lead into a 73-69 win. Gokul Natesan's and-one with 13 seconds left put Mines ahead, and a crucial steal by Ben Sonnefeld led to Luke Schroepfer's game-icing free throws with two seconds left.

Natesan scored a game-high 23 points and added seven rebounds. Schroepfer and Ben Clare each notched 10 points and Murphy Gershman was a spark off the bench with seven points and nine rebounds.

Mines had led for much of the game, including by as much as seven midway through the second half, but UNK (2-2) chipped away and took the lead as Isaiah McKay's layup at the 3:22 mark capped a 6-0 run. Sonnefeld's bucket put Mines right back on top but back-to-back buckets by Trey Lansman and Yashua Trent put the home side up 69-66 with 1:59 to go.

That would be the Lopers' final points, as it turned out. Schroepfer went to the line and sank both free throws with 1:41 to go, and after both teams missed chances at the foul line, a defensive rebound by Caleb Waitsman led by Natesan's and-one layup to retake the lead 71-69. Sonnefeld's steal all but ended it as UNK was forced to put Schroepfer at the line in the closing seconds.

NOTABLES
- Mines shot 49.1 percent for the game, including 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. They held UNK to 41.4 percent overall, and the Lopers lived and died by the three shooting 7-of-30 from the outside.
- Trent led UNK with 19 points and Lansman sank 18.
- Gershman and Clare each played 21 minutes off the bench as Waitsman and Felix Scheytt got into early foul trouble. Clare's 10 points matched his career high from Saturday's game at Fort Hays State.
- The Orediggers shot 17-of-24 at the line, led by Natesan's 7-of-9 afternoon and Schroepfer's career-best 8-of-9. 

NEXT UP
Mines opens up at home on Friday, hosting Wayland Baptist at 3 p.m.