RAPID CITY, S.D. – After dropping a pair of tightly contested Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games on the road last weekend, the South Dakota School of Mines men's basketball team lost a little of its foothold in the RMAC standings.

The Hardrockers dropped their bout Friday night to CSU –Pueblo, 82-64, in Pueblo, Colorado, and then fell on a last-second shot to New Mexico Highlands University, 89-87, Saturday in Las Vegas, New Mexico. The result gave the 'Rockers a 9-10 overall record and now have a 6-7 mark in the RMAC. They head into this weekend on the outside looking in of the RMAC standings, sharing 10^th place.

But not to worry, as just one game separates the Hardrockers from sixth place. Fort Lewis, Westminster College, UCCS and CSU-Pueblo all have identical 7-6 marks and all tied for sixth. SD Mines shares ninth with MSU Denver and Regis. There will be a lot of rearranging after RMAC games are played this Saturday and the 'Rockers could be on the rise once again.

The Hardrockers have the 10^th best ranked offense in the league, scoring 74.9 ppg; and boast the RMAC's third-best defense allowing 69.8 ppg. Allec Williams is pacing the 'Rockers, averaging 14.7 ppg and is shooting 40 percent from the field. Mitchell Sueker has a shooting percentage of 46.5 and averages 12.9 ppg. Logan Elers adds 10.8 ppg and leads the team in rebounding with 5.8 rpg. Damani Hayes hauls in 4.7 rpg.

Elers is also close to a Hardrocker milestone, needing just 21 points to become a 1,000-point scorer for the SD Mines men's basketball team.

First up for the 'Rockers is a matchup in Denver, Colorado, against MSU Denver. The Roadrunners enter the weekend with a 10-9 overall record. MSUD split on the road last week, falling to Colorado School of Mines, 61-52, on Friday and then bounced back for a 66-59 victory over UCCS on Saturday.

The Roadrunners average 68.5 ppg and the defensive gives up 68.5 ppg. Senior guard Druce Asah leads MSUD with 13.3 ppg and junior Maris Colton is the rebounding leader with 5.2 rpg.

Friday's game is slated for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff and the game will be streamed live on the RMAC Network at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/msudenver/ and livestats will be available at: https://roadrunnersathletics.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary .

Saturday's opponent comes into the weekend with a 3-16 overall record and 2-11 mark in the RMAC. The Eagles have lost six games in a row --- most recently, falling to UCCS, 89-79, and then to Colorado School of Mines, 95-87.  Their last win came back on Jan. 4 in Durango, Colorado, against Fort Lewis College (83-71).

The Eagles are scoring 75.1 ppg and allowing 79.3 ppg. They are led by Brian Flores who is averaging 17.3 ppg, Jacob Jefferson is putting up 11.7 ppg and Colby Jackson contributes with 11.5 ppg.

Saturday's matchup is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff and the game will be streamed live on the RMAC Network at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/chadron/ ;  livestats will be available at: https://chadroneagles.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary ; and an audio stream of the game will also be available at: https://streamdb7web.securenetsystems.net/ce/index.cfm?stationCallSign=KQSK2 .