RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines men's basketball team has a big obstacle ahead of them this weekend as the Hardrockers welcome Colorado Mesa University and Westminster College to the King Center for a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference bouts.
 
Grinding out tough wins night after night, the Hardrockers have pulled themselves about .500 and head into the weekend with a 7-5 overall and RMAC record. SDM pulled away from CSU Pueblo down the stretch on Tuesday to post an 80-74 victory.
 
With eight games remaining on the schedule currently, the 'Rockers enter this final stretch with the team scoring 66.8 ppg, shooting 45 percent from the field and converting three-point goals 34 percent of the time. Opponents are putting up 71.7 ppg, shooting 44 percent from the field and 35 percent from the perimeter.
 
The Hardrockers are led in scoring by Will Dickson, who is averaging 13.5 ppg while teammate Alejandro Rama is right there with 11.6 ppg. Kolten Mortensen and Brevin Walter are both contributing with 10.4 ppg each. Mortensen also leads the team in rebounding with 7.5 rpg while Dickson pulls in 5.3 rpg.
 
Colorado Mesa will get the opportunity to play South Dakota Mines Friday night. The Mavericks come to Goodell Gymnasium fresh off a tight victory over Westminster College Tuesday night, 63-60. As a team, CMU is posting 76.2 ppg, and allowing teams to register 69.3 ppg. They are shooting near 50 percent from the field and 37 percent from the three-point line.
 
Individually, the Mavericks have four players scoring double digits. Ethan Menzies leads the squad with 15.9 ppg and 7.2 rpg, followed by Georgie Dancer with 13.4 ppg, Reece Johnson contributes with 11.1 ppg and Chris Speller put up 10.1 ppg.
 
Friday's game will start at 7:30 p.m. No fans will be admitted to the game, but it will be streamed live and for free along with Livestats on the Hardrocker Network by logging onto www.gorockers.com .
 
The Westminster College Griffins have become quite a competitive rival with the Hardrockers. The all-time series is tied at 3-3 and the last game saw WC steal a win away from the 'Rockers in Rapid City, 75-70 a year ago.
 
This season, the Griffins come into the game with 5-7 overall record and in the RMAC after the narrow defeat on Tuesday at the hands of Colorado Mesa. As a team, Westminster is registering 74 ppg while opposing team are cashing in for 72.4 ppg. They are shooting 46 percent from the field and 38 percent from three-point range.
 
Individually, Brandon Warr leads the team with 15.3 ppg, Alex Monson adds 12.2 ppg, while Jai Jai Ely, Jake Conner and Joonas Tahvanainen all contribute with around 11 ppg.
 
Saturday's game is set for a 6 p.m. tipoff. No fans will be admitted to the game, but it will be streamed live and for free along with Livestats on the Hardrocker Network by logging onto www.gorockers.com .