by RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota Mines men’s basketball team looked to keep the momentum going and stay in contention for a post-season berth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Saturday night against league-leading Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo.
After Friday night’s thrilling overtime win over Adams State, the Hardrockers gave the Skyhawks all they could handle, including a milestone from Alejandro Rama as he moved into the top 10 scorers in school history, FLC held on for an 86-83 win at Whalen Gymnasium. South Dakota Mines fell to 9-11 in league play but maintained it’s seventh-place spot in the standings with two games remaining. Fort Lewis, ranked No. 3/5 in the nation, is 19-1 in league play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Skyhawks opened with a 3-pointer, but the Hardrockers responded with 10 of 12 points scored, including 3-pointers from graduate student Kolton Frugoli and senior Alejandro Rama. A jumper by sophomore Guillem Garcia put the ‘Rockers up 16-10 before Fort Lewis scored seven straight points to regain the 17-16 lead.
Garcia and senior Keagen Smith answered with 3-pointers for a five-point South Dakota Mines lead and five straight points by Smith gave the Hardrockers a 30-21 advantage with 3:33 to play until halftime.
Redshirt freshman Abel Hutchinson’s layup at the 2:17 mark, however, were the final points of the first half for the Hardrockers until Frugoli’s two free throws with eight seconds remaining ended an 11-0 Fort Lewis run as the Skyhawks led 38-37 at halftime.
Rama nailed a 3-pointer to open the second half which followed by a Hutchinson layup for a four-point ‘Rocker lead. The two teams traded leads for the next three minutes before Fort Lewis appeared to take control.
The Skyhawks ran off 13 unanswered points for their biggest lead at 58-47 with 14:17 to play. A 3-pointer by Hutchinson cut the lead to 64-58 and five points from Rama and a Frugoli layup made it a one-point game with 7:40 to play.
The Hardrockers went scoreless for over three and one-half minutes as FLC built its lead back to nine before Rama’s step-back jumper ended the drought. South Dakota Mines chipped away and cut the lead to 79-76 with 1:48 to play before the Skyhawks answered with a 3-pointer and four straight free throws.
The ‘Rockers made it interesting in the final seconds with two free throws by Frugoli, and after a steal, a 3-pointer by Rama and a foul with three seconds remaining. Rama missed the free throw intentionally and Fort Lewis got the rebound to end the game at 86-83.
