RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota School of Mines men's basketball team ended 2019 the right way --- with a win. The Hardrockers are 4-7 on the season and have a 1-4 mark in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. 
 
SD Mines split its final weekend of 2019 at home, coming up just short to Fort Lewis College, 77-73, on Dec. 13 and then defeated Adams State, 72-69, (a first in program history) on Dec. 14. In the win over Adams State, the Hardrockers trailed, 69-67, with 1:36 remaining before a Troy Brady 3-pointer at the 1:14 mark gave SD Mines the lead. The Grizzlies missed a pair of free throws with four seconds left with a chance to take the lead while the Hardrockers hit a pair of free throws with a second left to secure the win.

Three players are averaging double figures for the Hardrockers, led by Allec Williams at 11.7 points per game followed by Mitchell Sueker (11.6) and Logan Elers (10.5). As a team, the 'Rockers let it fly from 3-point range as they are second in the RMAC with 107 from three-point range -- shooting them at a 39.3 percent clip (fourth in the RMAC). The Hardrockers are 12th in the RMAC in scoring (73.9 ppg) while they are fourth in scoring defense (68.4 ppg).
 
The Hardrockers are looking to begin 2020 just like they ended 2019. First on the docket will be the Colorado Mesa University. The Mavericks come to the King Center on a three-game winning streak and an 8-3 overall record and 4-1 mark in the RMAC. The Mavs rank second in the league standings.
 
As a team CMU is averaging 81.3 ppg while the defense is allowing 704 ppg. They are shooting 50.7 percent from the field and sling it quite often from downtown for a 41.9 percent average.
 
The Mavericks have a well-balanced offense with three players in double figures and three others that contribute with eight or more markers per game. Georgie Dancer leads the way for his team averaging 15.8 ppg while Tommy Nuno cashes in for 13.9 ppg and Michael Skinner adds 10.7 ppg. Nuno and Skinner also lead the team in rebounding each pulling in 5.7 rpg.
 
Friday's matchup begins at 5:30 p.m. (MDT) and the game will be streamed live on the RMAC Network at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sdsmt/#ondemandtab and livestats will be provided at: https://gorockers.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary . Friday night's will also serve as Native Youth Basketball Night. 
 
In Saturday's game, Western Colorado University will challenge the Hardrockers in Goodell Gymnasium. The Mountaineers are 5-6 overall on the year and sit at 2-3 in RMAC play, a game behind BHSU which is in a tie for fourth place while they are a game up on SD Mines.

Western Colorado capped 2019 with a 71-49 road loss to Colorado Mesa on Dec. 20, a game the Mountaineers led, 28-24, at the half before being outscored, 47-21, in the final 20 minutes.

Sienknecht, a sophomore, leads the Mountaineers in scoring at 13.5 points per game and has hit a team-high 19 three-pointers. He's also averaging 3.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Jackson Ehrlin is second on the team in scoring at 10.5 points per game while leading the team in rebounding (7.2 - fourth in the RMAC), assists (2.7) and blocks (0.5) per contest. Monroe Porter is averaging 8.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and a team-high 0.7 steals per game.

As a team, the Mountaineers are allowing 76.5 points per game (11th in the RMAC) while they are scoring 68.5 per game.
Saturday's tipoff is at 4 p.m. (MDT) and the game will be streamed live on the RMAC Network at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sdsmt/#ondemandtab and livestats will be provided at: https://gorockers.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary .