RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines men's basketball team will kick off the 2020-21 season this weekend with a pair of games against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foes Colorado School of Mines and Regis University.

Hardrocker men's basketball Head coach Eric Glenn will have a whole new squad on the floor this year. The Hardrockers return only four players from last year's team which posted the first win in school history in the RMAC postseason over Black Hills State and earned a berth to the the RMAC semifinals.

"We have a tremendously new look this year in personnel that will feature a lot of freshmen," said Glenn. "Nothing will change in our approach, we will stick to our process of teaching and building our guys the offensive and defensive systems."

Returning for the Hardrockers will be Wilfred Dickson (R-SR Napier, New Zealand), Ale Rama (SO Pine Ridge, SD), Zach Hidalgo (R-SO Greeley, CO), and Trey Smith (R-SR Senecaville, OH).

Glenn will look to the point guard position to lead the 'Rocker offense and expects Rama and Kolton Furgoli (SO Reno, NV) to battle for the starting spot.

"Both will see a lot of minutes throughout the season," said Glenn. "They have had a healthy competition in the preseason."

Other key newcomers to the roster this year include guard Brevin Walter (R-FR Las Vegas, NV), forwards Kolten Mortensen (JR Santaquin, UT), Keagan Smith (FR Delano, MN), Josiah Gardiner (FR Milford, NE), Barrett Keith (R-FR Colorado Springs, CO) Brannagh Walsh (FR Sydney, Australia) and center Charlie Garrison (FR Pleasant Grove, CA).

Coach Glenn says it will take some patience and time for the team to gel but he really likes the fit of this group.

"They are all great fits culturally and have had really good basketball careers where they came from," said Glenn. "They show up everyday and work hard and are very coachable which makes our job very enjoyable. I really look forward to seeing how this team looks come January and February."

Glenn sees Colorado School of Mines as the top team in the conference. "They return all but one player from last year," Glenn says. "They have great balance, depth and experience."

The Hardrockers will be on the road the first three games. Their first home game will be against Metropolitan State University on Dec. 17.

Looking to Friday night's game, the Orediggers have had the same COVID-19 struggles as the Hardrockers, but did manage a win over MSU Denver (82-48) on Nov. 28. Colorado School of Mines is going to be a tough opponent in the No. 13 ranked team in the nation.

Colorado Mines brings back all five of its starters and its top eight scorers, led by a trio of returning All-RMAC stars in Brendan Sullivan, Mason Baker, and Michael Glen. Sullivan earned first-team honors last year at small forward with averages of 13.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game while shooting .517/.440/.778. Baker, a senior point guard, continued to shoulder the scoring load leading Mines with 14.6 points and 3.0 assists per game to earn second-team honors in an injury-limited junior campaign. Glen continued his front court dominance at center, leading the RMAC in blocks (1.7 per game) while scoring 12.3 points and grabbing a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game.

The Orediggers also return starters at guard with Ben Boone (8.7 ppg/3.7 rpg/2.0 apg) and at forward with Titus Reed (9.5 ppg/4.6 rpg/1.2 apg), as well as bench spark plugs Kobi Betts (10.1 ppg/2.8 rpg/1.6 apg), Paul O'Leary (4.9 ppg/3.0 rpg) and Austin Means (2.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg). Mines also brings back bench contributors in Thurman Knowles (4.5 mpg) and Trent Dykema (3.4 mpg) with Tylor Trinh (4.0 mpg in 2018-19) coming off a redshirt.
 
The Orediggers also returns every component of a defense that ranked No. 1 in the RMAC last year allowing just 67.6 points per game. The Orediggers held opponents to .432 shooting overall and were the #2 defensive rebounding team (31.2 drpg) and the leading shot-blocking team (4.66 bpg) in the league.
 
Friday's game is slated for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff. No fans will be allowed into the arena, but the game can be viewed on the Hardrocker Network at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sdsmt/ .
 
The Rangers have also played one contest, falling to the University of Denver, 82-66.

Regis returns eight players from the 2019-20 roster and loses six to the transfer portal and graduation. However, red-shirt sophomore Kevin Ebiriekwe and sophomore Will Cranston-Lown will be returning a strong presence at the guard and forward positions. Both Ebiriekwe and Cranston-Lown started last season. The lone senior guard, Brain Dawson, will serve as a veteran leader for the team. Dawson brings a depth of experience to the team that will help immensely. Sophomore guard Aaron Bokol is returning as well. Bokol appeared in 29 games last season and snagged 79 rebounds his freshman year. The Rangers acquired standout guard Troy Brady as a graduate transfer from South Dakota Mines. Brady earned an All-RMAC Honorable Mention for the 2017-18 season with the Hardrockers. Last season, he averaged 6.5 points and 2 rebounds per game.

Saturday's game will start at 4:30 p.m. No fans will be allowed into the arena, but the game can be viewed on the Hardrocker Network at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sdsmt/ .