RAPID CITY, S.D. --- South Dakota Mines Men's Basketball took on a hot Colorado Mesa squad on Saturday night and battled throughout the game, but went down nine in the second half and were not able to recover, falling to the Mavericks.
How it Happened – Early in the first half, the Hardrockers and Mavericks were in a shootout with the first five shots made being three-pointers and the Hardrockers leading 9-6. Midway through the first half, the offenses had slowed, and the two teams were deadlocked at 15, prior to an 8-0 run by the Mavericks to take a 23-15 lead. The Hardrockers would continue to fight through the remainder of the half and go into the locker room trailing 34-28.
Out of the locker rooms, Trevor Baskin would hit a three, expanding the Maverick lead to nine, 37-28. Owen Koonce would also hit one for the Mavericks, expanding it to 40-28. The Hardrockers would answer with a five-point possession with a
Kolton Frugoli hoop and foul. He would miss the free throw only to see it rebounded by
Kolten Mortensen who threw it out to
Brevin Walter for a three-pointer. Mortensen would join the scoring a little later, hitting a baby hook.
Keagen Smith tipped two passes, leading to a driving layup by Rama, cutting the deficit to 4, then an offensive foul on the Mavericks would give the Hardrockers the ball back. They would take advantage with Rama hitting another driving layup. This time he was fouled and converted, cutting the deficit to 1, 44-43. After the media timeout, Mortensen would hit a three, again cutting it to 1, 50-49. With just under 8 minutes to go,
Brevin Walter would hit a runner, giving the Hardrockers a 51-50 lead. CMU would retake the momentum with a 6-0 run getting them out to a 59-53 lead. Trailing by nine, the Hardrockers would attempt to mount one last comeback, but it would fall short as they fell, 69-60.
Notes – Brevin Walter led the team with 20 points…
Alejandro Rama scored 18 points and
Kolten Mortensen added 10…
Keagen Smith and Mortensen added five rebounds.
Up Next – The Hardrockers take on CSU Pueblo on Friday, Jan. 20th at 7:30 p.m.
