RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota School of Mines men's basketball team picked up its first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win of the season Friday night, and improved to 4-0 at home, after defeating the Colorado Christian Cougars, 85-72, at the King Center in Rapid City, S.D.

SD Mines did an impressive job of keeping pace with a high productive Colorado Christian squad, matching the visitors shot-for-shot in the first half and then stepped up their defense in the second half while their offense picked up steam. The Hardrockers were able to pull ahead down the stretch and earn the victory.

"They shot the heck out of it in the first half. They were 65 percent from the three-point line. We did a super job of running our offense and getting good looks at the basket in the second half," said Hardrocker men's basketball head coach Jason Henry. "We made sure they didn't get many attempts down the stretch."

The Cougars hit 9-14 from the three-point line in the first half, but the Hardrockers were able to stay within striking distance as the home team trailed by just three points at the half, 42-39. SD Mines turned up the heat over the final 20 minutes and outscored the Cougars, 46-30.

 "We were able to get some good rebounds as well but obviously we kept scoring," Henry said. "They are a team that averages 84 points a game. We held them pretty good for the most part but we knew we had to keep scoring."

The Hardrockers shot 52 percent from the field making good on 28-54 attempts, including nine three-pointers and converted 20-28 from the free throw line. SD Mines tallied 36 rebounds, 19 assists, five steals and five blocks.

Another key to SD Mines' win was the play from the reserves. The Hardrockers put up 22 points off the bench.

Everybody that came off the bench did a great job," Henry added. "We all played our roles and it was a total team effort."

CCU finished the game shooting 43 percent, converting 25-58, including 11 three-pointers. The visitors had 24 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and one block.

Senior Konor Kulas led the charge for the Hardrockers with another double-double on the season. He dished in 26 points, recorded 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. Senior Marco Pascolo added 17 points, four rebounds and one assist. Senior Jamall Taylor contributed with 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and one block.

For the Cougars, Ty McGee led his team with 22 points, Brett Brady added 16, Dimitri Saliba contributed with 15 and Stefan Hackethal put up 10 points.
The win improves SD Mines to 5-4 on the season and 1-2 in conference play. Next up, the Hardrockers will take on the No. 18 team in the country as Colorado Mines comes to the King Center for a 5:30 p.m. matchup.