RAPID CITY, S.D. – After a shocking loss to the Black Hills State University Yellow Jackets the previous night, the Regis University men's basketball team (9-2, 4-2 RMAC) rebounded with an 84-82 win over the South Dakota School of Mines Hardrockers (5-5, 3-3 RMAC).
 
How It Happened: SDSM&T got off to a good start as they took their largest lead of the game 5:18 into the opening period. With the score sitting at 11-4 in favor of the home side, Regis began to work their way back into the game and eventually taking a 15-14 lead nearly midway through the first half.
 
Five minutes later, the Hardrockers had regained the lead, stretching it out to as many as six points, 29-23. Right before halftime, freshman Tomas Auruskevicius (11 PTS, 4-4 FG, 3-3 3-pt) splashed a three-point basket to take a three-point lead 36-33, but SDSM&T responded with a jumper to cut the lead to one point as the teams headed to their locker rooms to gear up for a very important second half.
 
The Rangers came out much stronger than they did in the first half, quickly taking a 42-37 lead following a layup from senior Dexter Sienko (11 PTS, 5-8 FG, 2 STL). The game tightened even more after this lead with both teams trading baskets and leads from the 17:04 mark until RU put together an 8-0 run starting at the 4:38 mark. Regis scored eight-straight points to take a 71-65 lead with less than three minutes on the clock.
 
Back-to-back layups from Sienko and sophomore Christian Little (24 PTS, 7-12 FG, 10-12 FT) gave the Rangers their largest lead 75-67 with under a minute to go. Using the experience from the night before, RU did what they could to prevent the same kind of comeback from occurring again. Yet, the Hardrockers found a way to fight their way back in. After two made free-throws from Little with 25 seconds on the clock, SD Mines drilled a trifecta to bring them within a point, 78-77. Junior Jarrett Brodbeck was fouled and converted both free throws but a layup from the home squad kept it a one-point game.
 
Little was sent to the line again where he swished both attempts. On the next possession, Little stole the ball from the Hardrockers and drew another foul sending him to the charity stripe to put the game away. The sophomore nailed both shots to go ahead 84-79 as the clock showed five seconds remaining. SD Mines hoisted up a three-pointer that fell through the net, but Regis was able to inbound the ball and run out the clock, picking up the 84-82 road win.
 
Game Notes: For the third time this season, Little led the team in scoring as he poured in 24 points. Senior Ty McGee enjoyed a very efficient shooting night going 7-of-8 from the field, including a perfect 2-for-2 from deep, and knocking down four free-throws for 20 points. The team had another good shooting night as they made 29 of their 53 shot attempts for a 54.7 shooting percent. Additionally, the Rangers went 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) from beyond the arc. The RU bench outscored the SDSM&T bench 38-19, while the team also owned a 10-point advantage (34-24) in the paint.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The men's basketball team will have a non-conference game on Tuesday, December 19 against Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, NM before Winter Break. The next contest will not come until December 30 when Regis travels to Fort Lewis College (8-2, 5-1 RMAC) to battle the top-ranked team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC).