RAPID CITY, S.D. --- It has been a real battle thus far for the South Dakota School of Mines men's basketball team but the Hardrockers continue to deliver.

The young squad used the first part of the season to come together and developed into a solid, competitive squad that went into the holiday break with a 6-5 overall record and 3-3 mark in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
SD Mines is now getting back to work and poised to make a run as the second half of the season is set to begin.

With just two seniors on the team, the Hardrockers have relied on the play of some of its underclassmen. Sophomore forward Logan Elers has really come on in the past couple weeks and now leads the Hardrockers in scoring, averaging 12.9 points per game. While freshman Troy Brady (12.3ppg) and sophomore Jake Heath (11.5) have been deadly accurate on the perimeter.

Heath, who led the nation in three-point percentage two weeks ago, now ranks second in that category with 58 percent (29-50). Brady is not far off the pace, connecting on 27-53 attempts for 51 percent from long range.
Senior Brian Orr is also starting to find his stride and is now knocking down 9.3 points per game while sophomore Wilfred Dickson is good for 7.5 markers each outing.

Next on the schedule for the Hardrockers will be a RMAC matchup against New Mexico Highlands University Saturday afternoon at the King Center in Rapid City.

The Cowboys enter the contest with an 8-4 overall record and are also 3-3 in conference play and sit in sixth place in the RMAC standings --- just one spot above the Hardrockers.

NMHU has a pretty solid lineup with four players averaging points in the double digits. Jacob Holland leads the way (15.8) followed by Jordan Jones (14.3), Chris Lewis (10.5) and Nmamdi Okoro.

The Cowboys are fourth in the RMAC for scoring, averaging 82.9 markers a game and rank toward the middle on defense, allowing around 77 points each game. The Hardrockers are scoring 73.2 points per game and allowing just 69.5.
Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m. (MST) on Saturday and the game will be featured on the RMAC network at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sdsmt/ .