LAS VEGAS, N.M. --- The South Dakota School of Mines men's basketball team returned from the holiday break firing on all cylinders as the Hardrockers notched a big win over the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys, 81-66, Friday afternoon during a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference bout in Las Vegas, N.M.

After taking a two point advantage in the first half, 33-31, the Hardrockers slowly began to pull away in the second period and hit some key perimeter shots down the stretch to close out the game and earn the victory.

SD Mines outscored NMHU, 48-35, over the final 20 minutes.

With time winding down, SD Mines saw their double-digit lead dwindle to five points with just over two minutes to play. But the Hardrockers were able to buckle down and rattled off a couple of three pointers, a layup off a press-breaker and a turnover converted to a "nail-in-the-coffin" dunk from senior Marco Pascolo with under a minute in regulation.

"Our guys played with a lot of heart tonight," said Hardrocker men's basketball coach Jason Henry. "This was a great road win for our program."

The Hardrockers finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field making good on 29-57 attempts. That included a 17-33 effort from three-point range (which tied a school record) shooting 52 percent from the perimeter. SD Mines also was 6-11 from the foul line, had 31 rebounds, 18 assists and four steals.

The Cowboys ended the game going 25-57 from the field for 44 percent and hit just five from behind the arc. They were also 11-17 from the free throw line, had 28 rebounds, 10 steals, eight assists and two blocks.

Individually, the Hardrockers had four players reach double figures. Senior Jamall Taylor led the way with a 22-point effort, hitting six from three-point range to go along with his seven assists, five rebounds and one steal. Senior Konor Kulas added 14 markers, six rebounds and one assist. Freshmen Jack Fiddler and Jake Heath contributed with 11 points each. Fiddler also led the team in rebounding coming down with seven.

We had some guys come up with some clutch three-pointers in the game today," Henry said. "Jack Fiddler hit some big shots in the first half and then Jamall really came up clutch for us in the second half."

New Mexico Highlands' Ron Lawton finished with 14 points and Marlon Johnson added 11 for his team.

The win improves SD Mines to 8-5 on the season and are now 4-3 in the RMAC. Next up, SD Mines travels to Golden, Colo., for a rematch with Colorado Mines. The 'Rockers defeated the then No. 18 Orediggers, 74-63, on Dec. 10 in Rapid City.