RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota Mines men's basketball team battled the Colorado School of Mines on Friday night.
Colorado School of Mines led for much of the game, but the Hardrockers fought and battled, taking a late lead before eventually falling.
How It Happened
Early in the first half, the two teams battled back and forth, but an 8-0 early run got Colorado School of Mines out to a 17-10 advantage.
Alejandro Rama would keep the Hardrockers in it early, scoring 10 of the Hardrockers' first 12 points. The remainder of the first half would continue to go back and forth, but the offenses would slow and Colorado School of Mines took a 34-27 lead into the locker rooms.
At the beginning of the second half, a pair of Riley Schroeder free throws would give the Orediggers a double-digit lead at 40-30. The fouling would continue for a couple of Hardrockers' offensive possessions with
Cameron Cohn hitting four straight.
Abel Hutchinson scored, followed by a Cohn three-pointer cutting the deficit to 5, 46-41 with 13:01 to play. Later, a Rama three would decrease the Oredigggers' lead to 1. With 9:37 to go a pair of Cohn free throws would tie the game at 50. Just moments later, the Hardrockers would take their first lead since around the 16-minute mark of the first half on a pair of
Ethan Bruns free throws. Two more free throws, this time by Keagan Smith would cap off an 8-0 Hardrockers run, taking a 56-50 lead. Colorado School of Mines would answer with a 12-0 run of their own, going up 62-56 with 3:28 to play. Down by the same score, back-to-back Hardrockers' baskets would cut the deficit to one possession. With just under 10 seconds to play,
Kolton Frugoli would give the Hardrockers a lead. On the other end, the Orediggers would hit a pair of free throws, retaking the lead and winning, 66-65.
Notes
Alejandro Rama and
Cameron Cohn led the Hardrockers in scoring with 16 points each…Rama hit 6-11 from the field and 3-5 from three-point range…
Keagen Smith grabbed seven rebounds to lead the team.
Up Next
The Hardrockers close the weekend with a Saturday evening matchup with MSU Denver at the King Center scheduled for a 6:00 tip-off.
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.
