RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota School of Mines men's basketball team has a stretch of games on its upcoming schedule that could potentially turn the season around for the Hardrockers -- starting this weekend on a long Colorado road trip.

The Hardrockers have lost their last seven-straight outings, going up against the best opponents the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference has to offer. SD Mines is 6-12 on the season and 3-10 in the RMAC. The 'Rockers are currently 12^th in the league standings, but could climb considerably if they have a productive weekend.

Last week was not a good one for SD Mines as the Hardrockers dropped a Tuesday game at Spearfish, S.D., in a rivalry bout against Black Hills State, 92-69, and then suffered a tough loss at home on Saturday to Westminster College, 76-43.

The Hardrockers continue to hold opponents to only 74 points per game on average. They just need sophomore Jake Heath (9.4 ppg) and freshman Troy Brady (11.7 ppg) to find the confidence knocking down shots on the perimeter that they had earlier this season. With senior Brian Orr (9.2 ppg) in the mix, SD Mines has the weapons it takes to be competitive.

With sophomore center Tristan Von Nieda slowly returning to the lineup, it will add another element to SD Mines' offense making it hard for opposing defenses to figure out. In the big man's absence, Logan Elers has emerged as the team's No. 1 point-getter averaging 14.1 points per game and leads the team in rebounding --- 5.7 per game.

The first stop for the Hardrockers will be Friday night against Western State Colorado University in Gunnison, Colo.

The Mountaineers (7-12, 5-8 RMAC) returns home after a weekend that saw an overtime loss to UCCS and a strong second-half effort in a loss to MSU Denver. Despite dropping two in a row, the Mountaineers have won three of their last five games. On the season, Western is 5-3 in Paul Wright Gym – the highest elevated gym in the nation.

Currently, Western is averaging 82.4 points per game, the fourth highest average in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. For the Mountaineers, much of that offensive quota comes from prodigious production at the three-point arc. On the season, Western is averaging nearly 10 three-point baskets per game.

Behind leading scorer, Ben Beauchamp's 16.4 points per game, the Mountaineers have three other players averaging 13+ points per game. Collin Smith continues to score on the regular with a 15.1 average. Quincy Harding and Brady Subart have elevated their game in the second half of the season and now average 14.4 and 13.5 respectively.

All the action will be broadcast live on Stretch Internet or you can follow the action via the live stats. Both are available at gorockers.com. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. (MST).

Saturday will find the 'Rockers in Grand Junction, Colo., to face Colorado Mesa University.

The Mavericks are also looking to get back on track this weekend after they were swept in their two games last weekend. The Mavericks are hoping to string some wins together over the next few weeks in order to get back into the playoff chase in the RMAC – just like SD Mines. They are currently sitting at 4-9 in the conference and 8-11 overall on the season, which puts them in 11th place in the RMAC.

The game is set to tipoff at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night and can be viewed on StretchInternet.com at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/cmumavericks/ and follow along with the live stats at: http://www.sidearmstats.com/coloradomesa/mbball/ .