RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines men's basketball team opened up the new year with a thrilling overtime win over the Western Colorado College Mountaineers 82-77 on Sunday afternoon at the King Center.

The Mountaineers grabbed an early lead and never trailed in the first half. Western led by as many as 10 points at one time in the 1st half. But Alejandro Rama closed the gap to one point 20-19 on back-to-back three-pointers. Later in the half, Kolten Mortensen nailed a three to cut the Mountaineers led to 33-32. Western would score two more buckets and the Rockers went into halftime down 37-33.
Rama would end the half with 10 points and Brevin Walter chipped in 6.

The Rockers went on a 9-0 run to start the 2nd half and finally grabbed the lead from the Mountaineers on a Mortensen three-pointer. At the first time out of the 2nd half, the Hardrockers led Western College 47-39. The Hardrockers would increase their lead to 12 points with 10:30 left in the game. The Mountaineers would fight back to within one and eventually tie the game 60-60 on a three-pointer by Will Willis with 6 min left. Cole Sienknecht tied the game with two free throws 69-69 with over a minute to go. Willis's floater through the lane gives the Mountaineers the lead 71-69 with 30 seconds to go in the game. Kolton Frugoli's offensive rebound and putback tied the game for the Rockers with 3 seconds left. That play would send the game into overtime 71-71.

In the overtime frame, both teams hit three-pointers. Then Walter put the Rockers ahead with a 3-pointer 77-74. With 35 seconds left Western tied the game on two free throws, but Walter put the Hardrockers back up 80-77 with a bucket and a free throw. The Mountaineers had a chance but missed a three-pointer and Walter sealed the deal with two free throws at the end for an 82-77 win.
Walter led all scorers with 27 points, 21 of those coming in the second half. Rama finished with 19 and Mortensen added 14.

The win moves the Rockers to 4-8 overall and 2-4 in RMAC play. The Hardrockers will take on Fort Lewis College at home on Tuesday night at 7:30.

About South Dakota Mines
The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and NCAA Division II offering 11 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 members, as well as four associate members, located in the states of California, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.