RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines men's basketball team hooked up with MSU Moorhead for a Friday night matchup at the King Center.
After struggling a bit early in the first half, the Hardrockers would come back and give themselves chances at the end before ultimately falling.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Up until the first media timeout, the two teams battled back and forth, tied up at 12 at the 13:53 mark. At that point the Dragons were able to embark on a 9-0 run, taking a 21-12 lead. The Hardrockers would answer with a pair of buckets from
Kolton Frugoli and
Alejandro Rama, cutting the deficit back to five, but MSU Moorhead would duplicate its earlier run, going up 30-16. Thanks to the play of
Cameron Cohn and Frugoli who had 17 and 11 first-half points, South Dakota Mines would outscore MSUM 20-9 through the remainder of the half, going into the locker room trailing by just five, 39-34.
In the first four minutes of the second half, MSU Moorhead expanded the lead to 10, 50-40. An Ale Rama three with the Hardrockers trailing by 14 followed by a
Keagen Smith basket and steal and stuff by
Kolton Frugoli cut it to seven, and the Hardrockers would continue to chip away. With just under six minutes to play a three by Smith cut the game to six. A layup by Cohn with 3:40 to go cut the deficit to three. A pair of Rama free throws with under a minute to play cut it two. The Hardrockers would then force a turnover and have a chance at the other end but would not be able to get the ball to fall with a couple of chances, falling 69-67.
UP NEXT
The Hardrockers will be back on the court next weekend, hosting MSU Moorhead and Augustana in the East/West challenge.
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 13 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.
