RAPID CITY, S.D. – On Friday night, South Dakota Mines had another important game as they all are when you're battling for playoff seeding.
Adams State is one of the tougher places to play in the RMAC as they fill the gym on a regular basis, but on this night the Hardrockers were on a mission. In a tight game all the way through, they relied on the stellar Keagen Smith and got a game winning layup from Guillem Garcia in overtime to pick up a needed win, 83-81 and move to 11-14 overall and 9-10 in RMAC play, moving into the seven spot in the RMAC standings.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the first half, it was the two defenses that mainly controlled the game, but it was kept close as it was within a possession or two throughout the half.
Adams State had the early edge, 8-4 before the Hardrockers took away some momentum and got out to a 12-8 lead after an Alejandro Rama three. That was the biggest different it would be in the first half, however, as the two teams would continue to answer each other with defensive stops and scores.
Towards the end of the half, Austin Fadal hit a three for the Grizzlies, giving Adams State a 31-29 lead, but Keagen Smith would answer on the other end with one of his own, to give SDM a 32-31 lead at half.
Early in the second half, the game would continue to be a back-and-forth battle. With 13:33 to play, an Abel Hutchinson three gave the 'Rockers a four-point advantage.
That would continue for much of the second half, but with the Hardrockers leading 60-57, Adams State would score eight unanswered, taking a 65-60 lead with 2:58 to play. Back-to-back threes from Kolton Frugoli and Guillem Garcia would tie the game at 68, only to be answered by Kolby Walker. On the ensuing possession, Smith would be fouled on a three and hit all three, tying it up at 71 with 27 seconds to play. Adams State would get a chance but would be unable to score and we would head to overtime.
Garcia would open the overtime scoring for the Hardrockers with a three, only to be answered by six straight from ASU. Smith would continue to play well, hitting another three, giving him 26 and the Hardrockers a two-point lead with under a minute to play, but once again, Adams State would answer. With 26 seconds to play, we were tied up again. After a couple of failed attempts, the Hardrockers maintained the ball with 1.1 seconds to go and a brilliant play was drawn up by Eric Glenn where Guillem Garcia was found open at the hoop after a back cut and converted the layup with .1 seconds to play, sealing the win.
NOTES
Keagen Smith led the Hardrockers with 26 points, a career high, hitting 8-13 from the field and 4-6 from three, including three free throws that sent the game to overtime…Alejandro Rama added 16 points, along with 11 rebounds…Kolton Frugoli and Abel Hutchinson added 13 points while adding seven and five boards…Frugoli added four steals…Guillem Garcia also had a big game, scoring 11 points, hitting some clutch threes and hitting the game-winning layup in overtime.
UP NEXT
The weekend is finished up tomorrow evening as the Hardrockers take on highly rnake
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
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.
