RAPID CITY, S.D. – South Dakota Mines Men's Basketball staged a late comeback to defeat Colorado Christian 72-66 on Thursday night.
Colorado Chrisitan outscored South Dakota Mines 37-36 in the first half.
Darren Wallace recorded the first four points for the Hardrockers, followed by a
Gray Thompson three-pointer to make the score 7-2.
Gavin Soukup made it 13-4 with a three-pointer with 15:35 left. Midway through the half, the Cougars brought it down to a three-point game.
Joshua Reid put up 10 consecutive points for the Cougars to tie the game 30-30 with 4:50 left in the half. Wallace made a three-pointer and
Jason Lee drained three free throws to make the score 35-33. The Cougars put up four straight points late to pick up a 37-36 lead at halftime.
A 6-0 run at the beginning of the second half gave South Dakota Mines a 42-37 lead. Bobby McWard brought it back to a two-point game with 11:24 left. An 8-0 CCU run made the score 54-51 for the Cougars. The Hardrockers were eventually down six points with 3:48 left in the game.
Ryan Sweeney came alive for the Hardrockers at the end of the game. He would have 15 of the last 16 points for the Hardrockers. He went on a 7-0 run himself to give the Hardrockers a 63-62 lead with 2:16 left. After the Cougars made it a three-point game late, Sweeney drove in for a layup to extend the SDM lead. Sweeney made free throws at the end of the game to give South Dakota Mines a 72-66 win.
Sweeney led the game with 24 points and seven rebounds. He was 9-for-12 from the field against the Cougars. Wallace recorded 12 points and six rebounds, while
Gray Thompson collected 10 points. Lee totaled nine points, five assists, two rebounds and two steals.
South Dakota Mines shot 46% from the field and 30.8% from beyond the arc. On the 15 Cougars turnovers, the Hardrockers picked up 22 points. They also had 30 points in the paint.
The Hardrockers moved to 4-6 overall and 2-1 in the RMAC after the win. They moved to a tie for third place in the RMAC with the victory. Their 2-1 start in the RMAC is the best since the 2017-18 season, where the Hardrockers also started 2-1 in conference play.
What's Next
South Dakota Mines will stay at home this weekend to take on CSU Pueblo on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Hardrockers will welcome Bethany to the King Center on Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. to close out December. After that, their next game is scheduled for Jan. 8 at MSU Denver.
