RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota Mines men's basketball hits the road this weekend for their last regular season road trip and playoff position still in the fray.
 
Currently the eight seed, South Dakota Mines is looking to improve upon that and solidify their position as they sit just one game ahead of CSU Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands and tied with Chadron State.

GAME INFORMATION

Adams State
Date/Time: Feb. 23 / 7:30 p.m. MT
Site: Alamosa, Colo.
Arena: Plachy Hall
Series Overall: Adams State leads 75.
Streak: Adams State Won 1
Series at Adams State: Adams State leads 3-2.
Streak at Adams State: South Dakota Mines Won 2
Last Meeting: Adams State Won in Rapid City, 83-77 (1/6/24).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines/
 
Fort Lewis
Date/Time: Feb. 24 / 6:00 p.m. MT
Site: Durango, Colo.
Arena: Whalen Gymnasium
Series Overall: Fort Lewis leads 9-3.
Streak: Fort Lewis Won 3
Series at Fort Lewis: Tied 2-2.
Streak at Fort Lewis: Fort Lewis Won 1
Last Meeting: Fort Lewis won in Rapid City, 82-76 (1/5/24).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines/
 
FANTASTIC FRUGOLI
Kolton Frugoli had a strong weekend last weekend, combining for 33 points over the two contests, but saved his best for Saturday's games, scoring 18 points on 8-12 shooting and adding eight rebounds.
 
REACHING UP THE RECORD BOOK
Alejandro Rama has scored 1,438 points for his career, 11th in school history. He is just 20 points shy of moving into the top-10 in all-time scoring for South Dakota Mines.   

COHN CONCERN
Cameron Cohn is someone that defenses need to worry about as he continues to do his thing. He has been consistently strong all season long, now averaging 18.5 points per game for the season, third best in the RMAC.He hits 40.1% from the field and 35.9% from three to sit on the RMAC leaderboard. He also leads the RMAC with 126 made free throws.  
 
ALL-AROUND ALE
IN addition to his scoring (17.4 ppg, fifth RMAC), Alejandro Rama is valuable in many facets of the game, sitting in the top 20 in the RMAC with 4.8 rebounds per game, 42% from the field and 33.9% from three-point range, good for 20th and 11th in the league. That is not where it ends for Ale as he is ninth in assists per game (3.1), 11th in assist/turnover ratio (1.2), 13th in blocked shots (.8) and first in steals (2.3).
 
THREE-POINT THREATS
The Hardrockers hit 8.5 three-pointers per game, third most in the league. They are also great at defending the arc, allowing opponents to hit just 30.1%, best in the league.
 
PLAYOFF PUSH
South Dakota Mines is in the thick of the RMAC playoff race, searching for their first RMAC playoff berth since 2020-21, however, they were unable to play that season due to COVID-19. Sitting at 10-14 overall and 8-10 in the RMAC, the Hardrockers are eight in the playoff picture, looking to solidify their spot.
 
SCOUTING ADAMS STATE
Adams State has struggled to a 8-16 and 6-12 season, but are looking to end it on a high-note and hold onto their hopes at a playoff spot.
 
Destan Williams and Austin Fadal are the leading scorers in the RMAC, averaging 16.3 points per game and 15.5 points per game. Both of them are very efficient scorers, hitting 50.2 and 51.9 percent of their shots from the field, while Williams also hits 37% from three-point range.
 
Williams is also a playmaker, averaging 3.8 assists per game and a turnover/ratio of 1.7.
 
Despite their struggles, the offense has not been the issue as they average 79.5 points per game as a team, third in the RMAC and do it on 47.5% shooting and the highest free throw percentage in the conference (79%) by a large margin.

Defense is another story as they allow 85.3 points per contest, the most in the league by over six points.
 
SCOUTING FORT LEWIS
Fort Lewis is one of the best teams in the conference and in the country as they are 22-2 and 17-1 in the RMAC, tied for first with Colorado Mesa. They have won 10 consecutive games to move up to #3 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Poll and #5 in the D2 College Sports Communicators' Media Poll.
 
They are a strong offensive team but it is balanced as they have just three players scoring in double figures, but seven averaging more than seven points per game and another three averaging over five points per game.
 
Obi Agbim leads the way with 14.5 points per game on 45.8% shooting. He also averages 2.9 assists per game and holds an assist/turnover ratio of 1.6.
 
Malik Whitaker hits 51.1% of his shot and 49.1% from three-point range.
 
Brayden Carter is in the top 10 of the RMAC, averaging 5.5 rebounds per game, also blocking a shot per game, eighth in the league.
 
As usual, the Fort Lewis offense runs and shoots, leading the RMAC and near the top of NCAA Division II, averaging 86.1 points per gam on the second-best shooting percentage and best three-point percentage.
 
They aren't just an offensive juggernaut, however, as they are second in the RMAC in points allowed per game (70.2) and in opponent field goal percentage (42.4%).
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Following this weekend, the Hardrockers head home for their final pair of regular season games, taking on Chadron State and Colorado Christian on Friday and Saturday.
 
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 Hardrocker 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.