RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota School of Mines men's basketball team returns home after opening its Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference campaign on the road last weekend. The Hardrockers faced MSU-Denver and University of Colorado Colorado Springs, but were unable to pick up a win despite challenging their opponents in either contest.
 
SD Mines threatened late in both outings, but ran out of time as their late scoring surges came up short. The Hardrockers fell to MSU-Denver, 73-54, on Friday and then dropped a heartbreaker to UCCS, 66-64, on Saturday. SD Mines slid to 4-4 on the season and are currently 0-2 in the conference.
 
This Friday, the Hardrockers will play host to RMAC opponent Colorado Christian. CCU has a 5-3 record on the season and opened their RMAC schedule with two wins last weekend. The Cougars average 84.4 points a game and give up 81.5 each time out. They are a fairly accurate squad, shooting just over 50 percent from the field each game.
 
"We've got our hands full Friday night," said Hardrocker men's basketball head coach Jason Henry. "Colorado Christian shoots the ball extremely well. They do a lot of good things at both ends of the floor."
 
CCU Senior Dimitri Saliba is third in the RMAC, averaging 19.5 points per game and teammate Ty McGee is fifth, posting 18.6 markers a contest. The Hardrockers will be up for the challenge of shutting them both down.
 
On Saturday the Rockers will host Colorado School of Mines. CSM is currently ranked 18^th in NCAA Div. II men's basketball. The Orediggers have lost just one of their first eight games.
 
"(Colorado) Mines had a couple big wins last week," Henry said. "We are excited for the challenge ahead."
 
The Orediggers (7-1) got off to a 2-0 start in RMAC play last week, beating Chadron State, 78-66, followed by a win over Regis, 81-69. Against Chadron State, Caleb Waitsman drained 23 points with nine rebounds while Gokul Natesan had 25 points in the win.
 
Against Regis, rebounding was key, as CSM outscored Regis, 23-7, on second-chance opportunities. Waitsman scored 19, Luke Schroepfer added 15, and Natesan dropped in 12 markers.
 
The Orediggers are averaging 83 points and give up just under 67 points a game. They rank second in the conference in three-point percentage (.438), first in defensive rebounds (27.5rpg), second in assists (18.4 apg) and second in steals (7.4 spg).
 
Henry  said he is encouraged by his team's reaction to the tough losses of the past weekend and will be up for the challenge that this week presents.
 
"We had the best Monday practice we had all year, it's a really tribute to our guys," Henry added.
 
SD Mines is led by one of the league's top front-court players in senior Konor Kulas, who averages an RMAC-best 20.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Junior Brian Orr (12.9 ppg), senior Jamall Taylor (9.5 ppg), and senior Marco Pascolo (9.5 ppg) all contribute to the scoring as well. The 'Rockers shoots 46.8 percent from the floor and 38.8 percent for three-point range.
 
Hardrocker basketball is getting ready for the Holiday Season and will host a Toys for Tots event this weekend. At the Hardrocker basketball games this weekend you can donate a toy for a child and get into the games free of charge.
 
Friday's game is slated to start at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday's bout will tip off at 5:30 p.m. Both games will be broadcast along with live statistics on the RMAC Network at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sdsmt/ .