RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota School of Mines men's basketball team made it through the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 2-2 record. The Hardrockers will now start Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play this weekend at home welcoming MSU Denver and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs to the King Center.
 
The 'Rockers have a number of contributors to open the season. Sophomore Jake Heath --- last year's RMAC Freshman of the Year, has picked up where he left off, leading SD Mines in scoring with 12.3 points per game. Red-shirt freshmen Troy Brady and Wilfred Dickson are both right there as well -- both are cashing in for 12 points per game and sophomore Logan Elers contributes with 11 ppg.
                                                                                                                                                           
"We have some guys that can shoot and we know we are going to score some points this year," said Hardrocker men's basketball head coach Jason Henry.
 
MSU Denver is first on the schedule Friday night at 7:30 p.m. The Roadrunners come to Goodell Gymnasium with a 1-5 record. The Roadrunners are coming off their first win of the year in a game where they put up 82 points on the University of North Georgia. They are now 1-5 on the year.
 
MSUD is led by Cameron Williams who is scoring 19.5 points a game, which is third in the conference right now. Teammates Peter Moller puts up 12 ppg and Allec Williams and Jaryn Taylor are both contributing with 11 ppg.
 
"It's pretty much the same guys that played last year for them," Henry said. "They do have a pre-season all-conference selection in Williams. We will be watching him closely all night. He does a lot of good things for them. As he goes, they go."
 
MSU Denver loves to press on defense so it will be interesting to see if the young Hardrocker team will be able to handle the pressure and capitalize on the Roadrunners' aggressiveness.
Saturday the Mountain Lions come to town, entering the weekend with a 3-3 overall mark. UCCS is capable of putting a lot of points on the scoreboard. They have not scored under 80 points this season and have posted 95-plus points three times.
 
Justin Smith leads the way for the Mountain Lions with 13.8 points per game, with Brandon Malone putting up 12.7. Dalton Walker and Elijah Ross are both contributing with 11.8 and 11.7 points respectively and Padiet Wang adds 9.2 ppg.
 
"They are going to be one of the top teams in the conference this year," Henry said. "They have some good players on both the interior and the perimeter. They also like to push the ball so we will need to make sure we are getting back and playing defense on the transition."