RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota School of Mines men's basketball team has quietly progressed through preseason and are ready to make some noise as the 2019-20 season is set to begin this weekend. The Hardrockers kick off the season Friday and Saturday at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference / Lone Star Conference Reginal Challenge in Laredo, Texas.

SD Mines boast a veteran roster, returning a strong core of players from last year. The Hardrockers return nine players that saw significant time including all five-starters along with a good group of reserves with plenty of game experience.

Mitchell Sueker, last year's RMAC Freshman of the Year, along with fellow RMAC second-teamer Logan Elers will navigate the Hardrockers through another challenging non-conference and RMAC schedule. Sueker was the 'Rockers' leading scorer in 2018-19 averaging 14.7 points a night and grabbing 5.2 per game. Elers pulled down 6.3 rebounds per game and contributed with 12 points a game.

Troy Brady, Jack Fiddler, Tristan Von Nieda, Damani Hayes, Allec Williams, Wilfred Dickson and Trey Smith will all see significant time this season and help the 'Rockers improve on their 12-18 overall record from last year.

First on the schedule is Texas A&M Kingsville on Friday. Almost two-thirds of TAMUK's roster is made up of upperclassmen, including a half-dozen seniors. The returners include seniors Rashon Thomas (Houston, Texas) and Chauncey Thomas (Plano, Texas), both of whom were constants in the starting lineup a year ago and figure to again take on prominent roles.
 
Rashon Thomas will look to recapture the shooting touch he showed as a junior, when he led the Javelinas in made three-pointers and was also the squad's best shooter from the free throw line at 84.7 percent. He finished the season by canning 33 of his last 34 from the charity stripe, including his final 19-in-a-row.
 
Also back is one of the team's most versatile players, senior John Mouton (Missouri City, Texas). The 2018-19 season ended with Mouton in the Javelinas' top three in scoring, rebounding, steals, made baskets and made threes. He logged a double-double in his team's upset of WT and put up a season-high 22 points against Cameron in the penultimate game of the regular season.
 
Last year, the 'Rockers hosted TAMUK where SD Mines defeated the Javelinas 80-71. The 'Rockers rallied in the second half of that game to force overtime and then outscored their opponents 22-13.
 
On Saturday, SD Mines faces Texas A&M International. Texas A&M International men's basketball was tabbed to finish 17th in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll. The poll reflects the opinions of LSC head coaches, sports information directors and various media representatives throughout the region.
 
A year ago, SD Mines met little resistance, defeating the Dustdevils, 68-42.
 
Friday's game is slated for a 6pm (MDT) tipoff and Saturday's game starts at 4pm (MDT). Games are streamed live at: https://lonestarconferencenetwork.com/tamiu/ with livestats at: https://godustdevils.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary .