RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines men's basketball team fought tooth and nail for 40 minutes, against UCCS, holding the lead for a majority of the game before falling to the Mountain Lions down the stretch, 74-71, during the Rocky Moutnain Athletic Conference opener Friday night at the King Center in Rapid City, Sout Dakota
How it Happened - The Hardrockers and Mountain Lions would battle for the first several minutes, getting out to a tie at 16. With the Hardrockers trailing 26-25, they would begin to gain momentum behind the play of
Brevin Walter,
Kolton Frugoli, and
Kolten Mortensen, getting the Hardrockers out to a a 9-point, 40-31 lead at halftime.
With just over six minutes gone in the second half, the Hardrockers would take a double-digit lead.
Kyle Harris took a charge, then was followed by three-pointers by
Brevin Walter and
Jaxon Lloyd, pushing the lead to 51-40 with 12:36 to play. UCCS would continue to fight back, however. Logan Bracamonte would hit a three with just over five-minutes to play and with 4:45 to go UCCS cut the lead to just three, 62-59, Hardrockers. It all setup for a tense final minute. UCCS was able to take a two-point lead on a William Becker layup with 37 seconds to go. On the offensive end, the Hardrockers were unable to score, forced to foul and get the ball back down, 4, 72-68. With 10.7 seconds to play
Brevin Walter hit a three, cutting the UCCS lead to 72-71. Beni Fungula continued his strong night, hitting two more free throws. With 7.8 seconds to go, the Hardrockers had possession, and a clean look from
Brevin Walter rimmed out. The Hardrockers fell 74-71.
Game Notes – Brevin Walter led the Hardrockers in all three categories, scoring 27 points, seven rebounds, and four assists…
Kolten Mortensen and
Kolton Frugoli also scored in double figures, scoring 15 and 13 points on the night.
Up Next - The Hardrockers will be back in action tomorrow at 6:00 PM at the King Center against the Regis University Rangers.
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 10 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.
