RAPID CITY, S.D. – Western State Colorado University men's basketball moved one step closer to a birth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday night. The Mountaineers moved within a half-game of the eighth and final tournament spot with a 77-66 win over South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
 
Western (11-15, 9-11 RMAC) got out to a rocky start against the SDSMT Hardrockers (7-18, 4-10 RMAC). At the 7:48 mark of the first half, the Mountaineers trailed by 10 points, 19-9.
 
The Mountaineers got back on track with a 15-5 run over the following 6:41 and took a 31-29 lead into halftime.
 
The second half was dominated by Western. The Mountaineers led by as many as 13 points with 7:23 left to play. At the end of the game, Western held an 11-point advantage, 77-66.
 
The Mountaineers shot 66.7 percent (16-of-24) from the field in the second half, and ended the game with a 57.1 (28-of-49) field goal percentage.
 
Ben Beauchamp led Western in scoring with 19 points, while also grabbing four rebounds and earning three assists.
 
Collin Smith, Brady Subart and Quincy Harding also scored in double figures for the Mountaineers. Smith added 17 points, while Subart scored 15 to go along with Harding's 11.
 
Western is now 0.5 games back from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and New Mexico Highlands University. Both UCCS and NMHU play tomorrow night.
 
NMHU faces Colorado School of Mines on the road Saturday night, while UCCS plays host to Metropolitan State University Denver.
 
With an NMHU loss on Saturday, the Mountaineers will be able to control their own destiny.
 
Western has two more games to play, with the first coming against NMHU next Friday on the road. The Mountaineers will then face Colorado State University – Pueblo in the regular season finale in Pueblo on Saturday.