DENVER, Colo. --- On Friday night, the Hardrocker men's basketball team faced off with Regis. In an important game for RMAC playoff purposes, the Hardrockers offense continued its recent play, but the defense stepped up, especially in the first half, leading to the victory.
How it Happened – The Hardrockers and Rangers were locked in a defensive battle early in the first half with a
Brevin Walter old-school three-point play, giving the 'Rockers an 8-5 lead.
Alejandro Rama would follow with one of his own, expanding the lead to 11-5. Following the media timeout, Rama would connect on a three, giving him 9 early points and South Dakota Mines a 9-point lead. The hot shooting would continue, first with Rama, then
Trase Olsen connecting from long range, expanding the lead to 23-9. Rama could not be stopped in the first half, converting another and-1 to give him 15 and the Hardrockers a 35-19 lead. Rama would finish the first half with 19, and the Hardrockers led 41-28 at the half.
Rama picked up where he left off in the first half, drilling a three to start the second. With the Hardrockers up 13, Walter would hit a three increasing the advantage to 51-35. Later in the half, the 'Rockers took their biggest lead in the half after
Trase Olsen hit his fourth three-pointer of the game off an assist by
Kolton Frugoli, expanding the lead to 63-41. Regis would start to fight back, however, cutting the lead to 65-54, then 67-57 after a Vojin Mastilovic three. Aaron Bokol and CJ Reed baskets for Regis cut the Hardrocker lead to 71-62, but a pair of Walter free throws, expanded it back to double digits, 73-62. The Rangers would keep pushing back, getting a three from Jadeep Singh that cut the 'Rocker lead to five, 75-70 going into a media timeout at 3:33. With 51 seconds to go,
Kolton Frugoli would go to the free throw line, hit both, giving the Hardrockers a 9-point advantage, 79-70 and that would seal it as South Dakota Mines would hit their free throws down the stretch and win it, 86-76.
Notes – Alejandro Rama and
Brevin Walter led the team, scoring 29 and 24 points…Walter and Rama also led on the glass, grabbing 8 and 7 rebounds…
Kolton Frugoli and Walter tied for the lead with 3 assists each.
Up Next – The Hardrockers look to pick up the weekend sweep as they take on UCCS tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m.
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 11 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.
