RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota School of Mines men's basketball team came up on the wrong end of a nail-biter Friday night as the Hardrockers opened Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play against the MSU Denver Roadrunners at the King Center in Rapid City. The Roadrunners escaped with a 61-58 victory.

SD Mines trailed by four points with just under 30 seconds left in the game. Freshman Troy Brady got his team within one point, 59-58, after draining a three-pointer with just three second left in regulation. After MSUD hit two free throws at the other end, a final long-range attempt from junior Jacob Anastasi rimmed in and out as time expired.

The game was deadlocked at 27-27 at halftime, while the second half saw the Roadrunners squeak out a win, outscoring the 'Rockers, 35-32. SD Mines shot 44.7 percent from the field hitting 21-47 attempts, including 8-16 from the three-point line and made good on 8-10 free throws. The Roadrunners converted 23-56 buckets to shoot 41.1 percent from the field, with 4-10 from three-point range and 11-17 from the foul line.

MSU Denver collected 32 rebounds on the night, 14 of which were offensive, while the Hardrockers recorded 18 rebounds on the night.

Individually for the Hardrockers, sophomore Jake Heath posted 16 points, three assists and two blocks while senior Brian Orr and freshman Troy Brady both contributed with 10 points.

The loss drops SD Mines to 2-3 on the season and start off the RMAC schedule at 0-1. Next up, the 'Rockers welcome the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Mountain Lions to the King Center for a 5:30 p.m. bout.