COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The South Dakota Mines men's basketball team was in Colorado Springs, taking on the Mountain Lions of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Friday night to begin conference play.
It was a tale of two halves in this contest as the offenses were unstoppable in the first half, combining for 81 points, but then it would grind to a half in the second half with each team scoring under 30 points. The back-and-forth battle ended in favor of the Hardrockers, 70-68.
How It Happened
Early in the first half, the two teams would battle back and forth. UCCS ran off five straight to take a 12-6 lead but then the two teams would trade three-pointers. With 13:38 to play, UCCS held a 17-15 lead.
Abel Hutchinson would connect on an and-1, tying it up at 18 with just over 13 minutes to play. Back-to-back three-pointers from Keangan Smith and
Brannagh Walsh gave the Hardrockers a 30-27 lead on
Alejandro Rama's fifth and sixth assists of the half. The two offenses would continue to score with the Hardrockers getting another Walsh three going into a media timeout at 3:48, taking a 36-34 lead. UCCS would retake a slight lead, 41-40 going into the locker rooms. At half,
Cameron Cohn led the Hardrockers with 12 points, while Smith added 11 and Rama recorded seven assists.
A
Cameron Cohn layup with 16:44 to play gave South Dakota Mines a 47-44 lead. Back-to-back three-pointers gave UCCS a six-point lead with 11:45 to go. Later, Rama would hit back-to-back threes, cutting the Mountain Lions' lead to 2, 59-57 with 8:32 to play. After a technical was assessed on UCCS, Rama would hit the two free throws, followed by a
Guido Wanschelbaum layup, tying it at 61. The score would stay there until the media timeout at 4:38. A Jesse Iweze dunk followed that timeout for UCCS and another technical foul, this one on South Dakota Mines. UCCS would hit one of the free throws, taking a 64-61 lead. With 2:45 to play, Rama would find Walsh for his eighth assist and get Walsh in double digits with 11, cutting the deficit to 1.
Kolton Frugoli would convert on a huge and-1 with 2:13 to play, tying the game at 66. With 48.6 seconds to go,
Cameron Cohn would drill a mid-range jumper, retying the game at 68. South Dakota Mines had possession with 4.6 seconds to play. The Hardrockers entered the ball into Cohn who would penetrate and beat his defender, getting the layup to go with .9 seconds left, leading the Hardrockers to victory.
Notes
Cameron Cohn led the team with 18 points, while Rama also added 16…
Brannagh Walsh and
Keagen Smith joined in double figures, scoring 11 each…Rama added eight assists and six rebounds…
Kolton Frugoli and Smith added two steals each…The Hardrockers hit 40% of their three-pointers (12-30).
Up Next
South Dakota Mines looks for a sweep in their opening conference weekend, taking on Regis at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.
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.
