RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines men's basketball team will play it home opener Friday in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game against the Regis Rangers at Goodell Gymnasium in Rapid City, South Dakota. The 'Rockers also had Colorado School of Mines on the schedule for Saturday night, but due to COVID issues the game against the Orediggers has been postponed.
 
The Hardrockers have been on the road since the season finally got underway back in December, with four-straight trips to Colorado where they amassed a 3-4 overall record. It has been a long month, navigating not only COVID protocols and procedures, but also having to adjust to an unstable schedule where it's not known if a contest has been postponed and rescheduled --- or flat-out cancelled.
 
All the 'Rocker know for sure is that the magic number is 11. Once 11 games are played, the Hardrockers will qualify for the RMAC tournament and the Top 8 team in the conference will battle it out for an RMAC title.
 
Looking at the season statistics, South Dakota Mines have been averaging 64.9 ppg and the team is shooting 44.6 percent from the field. Senior Wilfred Dickson leads the team averaging 11.7 ppg, while Alejandro Rama, Brevin Walter and Kolten Mortensen are all contributing with around 10 ppg. Mortensen is also leading the team in rebounding, averaging 7.6 rpg.
 
Last time out, the Rangers overwhelmed South Dakota Mines with a 90-52 tilt. That game was the second of the season for the 'Rockers back on Dec. 5. Since then, Regis has only logged three games, falling to Colorado school of Mines (73-50) on Dec. 10, and then dropping both games to open January, losing at Black Hills State (84-74) and Chadron State (74-59).
 
As a team, Regis is scoring 68.3 ppg and letting their opponents post 70.8 ppg. They are shooting right around 40 percent while adversaries cash in for 50 percent from the field. Will Cranston-Lown leads the Rangers, averaging 15.8 ppg, while teammate Brian Dawson tallies 14.8 ppg. Aaron Bokol collects 6 rpg.
 
Friday game will tipoff at 5 p.m. Fans are not allowed in the gym, but the game will be stream free on the Hardrocker Network by logging onto www.gorockers.com.