GUNNISON, Colo. --- The South Dakota Mines men's basketball team was taken by surprise Tuesday night as the Western Colorado University Mountaineers eeked out their first win of the season, upsetting the Hardrockers, 75-64, during a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matchup in Gunnison, Colorado.
 
The Mountaineers (1-4 overall, 1-3 RMAC) led 24-22 at the half before starting the second half on an 8-0 run capped by a WCU 3-pointer at the 18:44 mark to make it 32-22. Western pushed its advantage to a game-high 18 points after the Mountaineers hit a 3-pointer with 12:41 remaining made it 47-29.
 
The Hardrockers (3-4 overall, 3-4 RMAC) tried to recover but couldn't get in a good rhythm and never got within eight points the rest of the contest as the Mountaineers scored 51 second-half points thanks to going 10-for-16 from 3-point range over the final 20 minutes.
  
The Mountaineers shot 76 percent from the field in the second half (19-for-25) to finish the game shooting 50 percent. The Hardrockers finished the game making good on 20-46 attempts to shoot 43.5 percent in the game, including 10-31 from downtown and converted 14-18 on free throws.

Individually for the 'Rockers, Brevin Walter had a season-high 23 points and five three-pointers while Wilfred Dickson tacked on 16 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Alejandro Rama cashed in for 13 markers and Kolten Mortensen, this week's RMAC Defensive Player of the Week, added nine rebounds, eight points and four assists.