by RAPID CITY, S.D. — The South Dakota Mines men’s basketball team shot 65% to set a new D2 Era record on its way to scoring 94 points against Fort Lewis on Tuesday night.
The first half started fast and furious with both offenses seemingly scoring at will with the Hardrockers leading 23-22 with just over 11 minutes to play. Brevin Walter was the early leader for the Hardrockers, getting into double-digits with 10 minutes to play. The Hardrocker offense was rolling, later Alejandro Rama (Oglala Lakota) hit a three, giving South Dakota Mines a 5-point lead, 34-29. The Fort Lewis offense wasn’t far behind, however, virtually matching the Hardrockers basket for basket, until back-to-back threes from Bryce Sherrell and Keagen Smith gave the Hardrockers a 42-34 lead. Two free throws by Brenden Boatwright for the Skyhawks out of the timeout would slow the South Dakota Mines momentum. Moments later a technical foul on the Hardrockers led to a Riley Farris free throw. The momentum swing would be brief as Kolton Frugoli would score on the Walter assist, expanding the lead to 44-37. Brannagh Walsh would join the party hitting a jumper, leading to a timeout with South Dakota Mines leading 46-37. With the deficit shrinking, back-to-back-to-back Alejandro Rama baskets brought the lead to 10, 52-42.
The second half would start the same way as the first half went, with the Hardrockers hitting everything, starting the half on an 11-0 run with buckets from Kolten Mortensen, Kolton Frugoli, Keagen Smith, and Brevin Walter. Fort Lewis would call a timeout, trailing 63-45. It would not slow the Hardrockers down as they were humming, scoring seven unanswered to build a 25-point lead. Offensively, the Hardrockers started the second half hitting 11-12 of their shots to go up 77-51. Brenden Boatwright would power a mini run for the Skyhawks, however, a Sherrell dunk and Rama three would quickly spoil it, helping to push the lead to 84-60. Fort Lewis would continue to fight, cutting the deficit to 86-69 with 5:34 to go. The Hardrockers would continue to play well offensively, increasing their lead to 92-72 with under 3 minutes to play. The Hardrockers would empty the bench, getting Jaxon Lloyd, Tommy Rau, and Barrett Keith into the game, and would end the game with a 94-78 win.
