RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota School of Mines men's basketball team is looking to earn its first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win of the season as the Hardrockers play host to Fort Lewis College and Adams State in a pair of tough conference matchups at the King Center in Rapid City, South Dakota.

The Hardrockers were extremely competitive on a road trip to Utah last weekend, putting a big scare into the NCAA Div. II No. 16 ranked Dixie State Trailblazers. DSU escaped with a 77-69 win to remain first in the RMAC standings. Saturday, the 'Rockers were in a slugfest with Westminster College, but the Griffins hit some clutch shots down the stretch to tip SD Mines, 75-70.

The 'Rockers enter the weekend with a 3-6 overall record and a 0-3 mark in the conference. SD Mines is averaging 74.2 points per game and giving up 67.8. They are shooting 46 percent from the field and are good from long range, 38 percent of the time.

Allec Williams and Mitch Sueker lead the team in scoring each cashing in for just under 13 ppg while Logan Elers contributes with just under 10 pgg. Elers also leads the team in rebounding grabbing 5.4 rpg while Damani Hayes hauls in 4.9 rpg.

Fort Lewis (7-1, 1-1 RMAC) faces SD Mines Friday night and comes to Rapid City after narrowly edging CSU-Pueblo, 98-95, in overtime last weekend to earn their first conference win of the 2019-20 season.

The Skyhawks led by as many as 16 with 12:07 remaining in regulation and were forced to survive a ThunderWolves rally. CSU-Pueblo had an opportunity to take the lead late with two free-throws on a double bonus, but a missed free-throw sent the game to overtime. The Skyhawks outscored the ThunderWolves 12-9 in overtime with two key three-pointers down the stretch.

FLC has a high-flying offense scoring 91.8 points a game while the defense is allowing 80.3 points a night. Riley Farris leads the team in scoring with 23.8 ppg, Akuel Kot contributes with 17.5 ppg and Danny Garrick, an outside threat,  adds 13.9 ppg.
Last year the Hardrockers not only defeated the Skyhawks for the first time ever, they did so in Durango, Colorado, a place that not many programs have had success.

Friday's game is slated for a 7:30 p.m. start. The game will be streamed live at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sdsmt/ and livestats will be available at: https://gorockers.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary .

The Grizzlies come into the weekend with a 3-5 overall record and 1-1 mark in the RMAC. Last Saturday, ASU handed New Mexico Highlands its first loss of the season, outdueling them, 92-86, in Alamosa. As a team, Adams tallies 76.8 points per game while the defense is allowing 86.0 each game.

The Grizzlies are paced by Kaelin Crane, who posts 17.8 ppg and averages 5.8 rpg.  Ricky Norris and Rylan O'Brian both contribute with just under 13 ppg and Norris grabs 5.5 rpg as well.

The Hardrocker men's program has never defeated Adams State in the six times the teams have faced each other.

Saturday's game is set to begin at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed live at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sdsmt/ and livestats will be available at: https://gorockers.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary .