RAPID CITY, S.D. – On Friday night, South Dakota Mines battled with a team close to them in the RMAC standings, as both MSU Denver and the Hardrockers are looking to improve their seeding for RMAC playoffs.
Only one team could do that on this night and MSU Denver escaped with the 83-80 victory moving to 14-7 and 8-7 in the RMAC, while the Hardrockers moved to 9-12 and 7-8 in league play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
MSU Denver started out with an advantage, taking a 12-5 lead four minutes in as the Hardrockers weren't hitting their shots to start but MSU Denver was. After starting 1-6, Frugoli and Rama would hit threes to bring the Hardrockers within 1. Later, Guido Wanschelbaum and Guillem Garcia would push the 'Rockers out to their first lead, 19-17. Throughout the remainder of the first half, the two teams would battle back-and-forth with the Hardrockers retying the game at 33 with a Cameron Cohn three with 2:55 to play in the half. MSU Denver would have a slight advantage to go into the half, leading 41-38.
Early in the second half, Alejandro Rama would get his scoring going and a Keagen Smith three capped off a 10-0 run that gave the Hardrockers a 57-54 advantage. The offenses would continue to push and answer each other with the two teams locked up at 65 with just under six minutes to play.
With under four minutes to play, Kolton Frugoli converted on an and-1 giving the Hardrockers a 70-66 lead. Later, he would get another and-1 to give South Dakota Mines a 73-70 advantage. Braydon Maldonado would give the Roadrunners' the lead with 1:30 to go on a pair of free throws. Trailing by three, Cohn would hit a layup and the Hardrockers would foul with just 20 seconds to play. MSU Denver would hit both, with Guillem Garcia to follow with a hook shot with a little over six seconds to play. The Hardrockers would be forced to foul again. After two made free throws, Rama would make the first free throw, purposely missing the second, but getting called for a lane violation and that would seal it with MSU Denver winning 83-80.
NOTES
Cameron Cohn scored 21 points to lead the team and grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds…Alejandro Rama, Kolton Frugoli, Keagen Smith and Guillem Garcia also scored in double figures, adding 15, 14, 11 and 10…Rama added five rebounds and tied Cohn for the team lead in blocks and steals with two.
UP NEXT
The Hardrockers battle with top 25 opponent Colorado School of Mines on Saturday in Golden. That matchup is set to tip-off at 7:00.
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.
