GUNNISON, Colo. – Three wins in a row is a great accomplishment for any team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. However, when the third comes against a ranked opponent, it is even more significant. Western State Colorado University men's basketball completed the trifecta on Saturday night, defeating No. 22 Colorado School of Mines 79-76.
 
With 44 seconds left to play CSM (13-3, 7-3 RMAC) and Western (7-10, 5-6 RMAC) were tied at 74 points after an Oredigger basket.
 
The Mountaineers marched down the court and as the shot clock wound down to zero, Quincy Harding found Brady Subart open across the court. With the game in his hands, Subart shot a deep three. Subart's shot touched the bottom of the net, skipping through the rim, giving the Mountaineers a 77-74 lead with just 17 seconds remaining.
 
The Orediggers wasted little time after the Subart basket, pushing the ball up the sidelines and scoring a layup to cut the deficit to one point with 11 seconds remaining.
 
Western put the ball back in Subart's hands on the inbounds play. CSM quickly fouled the junior guard. Again, coming through in a clutch situation, Subart drained both free throws.
 
However, the Orediggers had one last chance, down three points with eight seconds left to play. CSM moved the ball along the left sideline and a last second three-point attempt fell short, giving the Mountaineers a 79-76 victory in front of their home crowd.
 
Saturday's game featured 63 free throws and 55 fouls as neither team was able to get into much of a rhythm.
 
The Mountaineers had five players reach double figures while the Orediggers dropped the ball down low and let their post players create their own shots.
 
Leading the way for the Mountaineers was Ben Beauchamp's 22 points. Beauchamp also added six rebounds, one block, two steals and a game-high four assists.
 
Quincy Harding added 17 points, while teammates Collin Smith and Subart each recorded 14 points. Redshirt freshman Jake Wilcox scored 10 points, making 2-of-3 field goals and going 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
 
Adam Laine led all players in scoring with 31 points for the Orediggers.
 
Western continues the season next weekend on the road at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and Metro State University Denver.