COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – South Dakota Mines Men's Basketball could not contain UCCS, falling 77-89 at the Gallogly Events Center.
South Dakota Mines outscored UCCS 39-33 in the first half. Both teams played back-and-forth for most of the half. With a 14-14 tie, UCCS made two straight layups to go up by four. However,
Gray Thompson hit two three-pointers to make the score 20-20 with 8:47 left.
The Mountain Lions tied the game at 27-27 with less than six minutes to go. The Hardrockers put up nine straight points, all from
Martin Poznanovic and
Jason Lee. They held a 39-33 lead at halftime.
UCCS turned it around in the second half, outscoring the Hardrockers 56-38. The Mountain Lions started the half on a 12-3 run to go up 45-42. After Lee's three-pointer tied it, the Mountain Lions took the lead and held it for the rest of the game.
A 16-2 Mountain Lions run made the score 61-47 with 12:16 left. Lee recorded five straight points to bring the deficit down to eight points. However, the Mountain Lions went on a run of their own and shut down the Hardrockers the rest of the game. They won 89-77 over the Rockers.
Lee put up his third 30-point game of the season with 30 points, nine rebounds, three assists and one steal. Thompson totaled 16 points and five rebounds. Sweeney collected 12 points.
The Rockers recorded 30 points in the paint, 22 fast break points and 15 points off turnovers. While they held UCCS to just three shots made beyond the arc, the Mountain Lions totaled 50 points in the paint.
South Dakota Mines dropped to 9-12 overall and 6-7 in the RMAC after the loss.
What's Next
The Hardrockers return to action on Saturday at Colorado Christian at 3 p.m. They are back home on Feb. 12 to play Regis at 7:30 p.m.
