RAPID CITY, S.D. – This weekend, the South Dakota Mines men's basketball team hopes to build off its most recent contest and string together some wins as they hit the road for a pair of RMAC matchups.
On Friday, the Hardrockers battle with Westminster and on Saturday, head to Grand Junction for a matchup with Colorado Mesa.
GAME INFORMATION
Westminster
Date/Time: Jan. 19 / 7:00 PM MT
Site: Salt Lake City, Utah
Arena: Behnken Field House
Series Overall: Westminster leads 5-4.
Streak: South Dakota Mines Won 1
Series at Westminster: Westminster leads 3-1.
Streak at Westminster: Westminster Won 3
Last Meeting: South Dakota Mines won in Rapid City, 71-68 (1/13/23).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines/
Colorado Mesa
Date/Time: Jan. 20 / 7:30 PM MT
Site: Grand Junction, Colo.
Arena: Brownson Arena
Series Overall: Colorado Mesa leads 8-1.
Streak: Colorado Mesa Won 3
Series at Colorado Mesa: Colorado Mesa leads 4-0.
Streak at Colorado Mesa: Colorado Mesa Won 4
Last Meeting: Colorado Mesa won in Rapid City, 69-60 (1/14/23).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines
1-2 Punch
Cameron Cohn and Alejandro make up one of the best offensive duos in the RMAC. Cohn averages 18.9 points per game, while Rama averages 18.4 points per game, the third and fourth most in the RMAC. Rama leads the RMAC in three-pointers made and is fourth in three-point percentage (35%). Cohn is sixth in three-ointers made.
MULTI-FACETED RAMA
In addition to his offensive ability, Rama has been one of the defensive leaders in the conference this year, averaging 1.07 blocks per game and 2.13 steals per game, numbers that are good for seventh and third in the RMAC.
THREE-POINT THREATS
In addition to Rama and Cohn, the Hardrockers also sport Keagen Smith and Kolton Frugoli who are shooting above 37% from three-point range. Bryce Sherrell and Abel Hutchinson are also shooting 40% on limited attempts.
POST PRESENCE
Brannagh Walsh has increased his play of late, picking up a first career double-double against Adams State with 11 points and 12 rebounds, then logging 27 minutes against Western Colorado.
BEYOND THE ARC
As a team, the Hardrockers are strong from behind the three-point arc on both sides of the floor, coming second in the RMAC in opponent three-point percentage (29.7%), a number that is 17th in NCAA Division II and are fourth in three-point field goals made (9.1).
HANDLING THE ROCK
South Dakota Mines takes great care of the ball, turning it over just 11.1 times per game to lead the RMAC and come in the top-40 in NCAA Division II. In turnover margin, the Hardrockers sport a number of +2.27, third in the league.
SCOUTING WESTMINSTER
Westminster has struggled, after starting the season 4-2, they have yet to pick up a victory in the RMAC and are on a losing stream of nine games.
Chase Potter and Rylan O'Brien lead the Griffins, averaging 13.1 and 11.8 points per game. Both players hit their baskets at a high rate, shooting 57.9% and 49.6% O'Brien also hits 41.1% of his attempts from beyond the three-point line.
Westminster shoots 47.5% from the field to sit in the top half of the RMAC, however, they allow opponents to shoot nearly the same percentage (47.2%) to come in near the bottom of the conference.
COLORADO MESA
Colorado Mesa is currently leading the RMAC and are on a 5-game winning stream as they sit 13-2 overall along with an unblemished, 9-0 RMAC record.
For their strong start, they are currently ranked #8 in the NABC Coaches' Poll and #14 in the D2CSC Media poll.
The Mavericks rank near the top of NCAA Division II in several categories, including but not limited to: assists per game, effective field goal percentage, fastbreak points, rebound margin, scoring margin and three-pointers made per game.
Trevor Baskin is one of the top players in the RMAC, averaging 15.9 points per game on 52.7% shooting. Baskin dishes out 3.4 assists per game as well to come in the top 5 in the RMAC.
Mac Rininker, the 2022-23 RMAC Defensive Player of the Year is a force on both ends, averaging 15.2 points per game on 64.2% shooting. He leads the RMAC in steals per game with 2.3 while also blocking a shot per game.
Baskin and Riniker also rebound at a high rate, averaging 7.9 and 5.2 per game.
LOOKING AHEAD
Next weekend, the Hardrockers are back at home at the King Center for one game on January 26, taking on CSU Pueblo before a mid-week rivalry matchup with Black Hills State at home on the 31st.
Fans can find the latest on South Dakota Mines men's basketball all year long on X and Instagram (@hardrockermbb), while also following on Facebook at South Dakota Mines Men's Basketball. The latest on South Dakota Mines athletics can be found by following us on X at @GoHardrockers, hardrockerathletics on Instagram and Hardrocker Athletics on Facebook.
ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
South Dakota Mines 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.
