GUNNISON, Colo. --- The Western Colorado men's basketball team got a career-high 32 points from Matthew Ragsdale and picked up its first win of the season after defeating South Dakota Mines 75-64 on Tuesday at Paul Wright Gym.
 
The Mountaineers (1-4 overall, 1-3 RMAC) led 24-22 at the half before starting the second half on an 8-0 run capped by a Ragsdale 3-pointer at the 18:44 mark to make it 32-22. Western pushed its advantage to a game-high 18 points after a Jaelan McCloud 3-pointer with 12:41 remaining made it 47-29.
 
The Hardrockers (3-4 overall, 3-4 RMAC) never got within eight points the rest of the contest as the Mountaineers scored 51 second-half points thanks to going 10-for-16 from 3-point range over the final 20 minutes.
 
Ragsdale tied several Mountaineers (including himself) for second in single-game Western history with seven 3-pointers and finished 11-for-18 from the field for his 32 points. He also grabbed four rebounds.
 
Two more Mountaineers ended in double figures as Cole Sienknecht had 19 points, four rebounds and three assists while Jackson Ehrlin was 5-for-5 from the field and totaled 11 points against the Hardrockers.
 
The Mountaineers shot 76 percent from the field in the second half (19-for-25) to finish the game shooting 50 percent, but the defense was a key factor as Western scored 24 points off of 17 Mines turnovers.
 
Walter Brevin had a season-high 23 points and five 3-pointers for the Hardrockers.
 
The Mountaineers take on the two-time RMAC Player of the Week Ross Williams and the Cougars of Colorado Christian University 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Gunnison.