GUNNISON, Colo. – South Dakota Mines Men's Basketball fell on the road at Western Colorado 74-81 on Thursday night.
The Hardrockers held a 34-32 lead at halftime. Both teams played back-and-forth until a 19-19 tie with 12:20 left. A 5-0 Mountaineers run gave them a 24-19 lead. The Hardrockers responded with a 10-2 run over the next six minutes.
Jason Lee drained a three-pointer with 2:22 left to make the score 34-30. Two Aidan McDowell free throws cut their deficit in half as the Hardrockers held a narrow 34-32 lead at halftime.
Western Colorado had a big second half, outscoring South Dakota Mines 49-40 to win 81-74. After a
Ryan Sweeney layup, the Mountaineers hit three straight three-pointers to go up 41-36.
Fred Libby responded with a three-point shot made. Western Colorado made it 51-46 until the Hardrockers put up six straight points to go up 52-51 with 13:26 left in the half.
A scoreless draught for the Hardrockers made it 56-61 with under eight minutes to go. Lee brought it back to a one-point game until a Mountaineer 7-0 run. That lead extended to 71-62 with 3:58 left. Western Colorado held a lead until the end of the game, defeating the Hardrockers 81-74.
Lee collected his sixth 20+ point game this season with 25 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Gavin Soukup put up 19 points on 7-for-15 field goal shooting. Libby totaled 10 points and seven rebounds.
As a team, the Hardrockers shot 39.7% from the field, 32% from deep and 53.3% at the free throw line. They picked up 34 points in the paint and 18 bench points. This game saw 10 ties and 10 lead changes.
South Dakota Mines fell to 8-9 overall and 5-4 in the RMAC after the loss.
What's Next
South Dakota Mines stays on the road to face Westminster on Saturday at 3 p.m. They will face Chadron State at home on Jan. 29 at 7:30 p.m.
