Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season and tournament champion Colorado School of Mines saw its season end Wednesday.
After winning the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball South Central Regional tournament in Golden last week, the Orediggers earned a trip to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for the Elite Eight.
But fifth-seeded Colorado Mines couldn’t hand with No. 2 Bellarmine in the first half and lost 92-72 to finish the season with a 30-5 overall record.
Luke Schroepfer led Mines with 18 points. Gokul Natesan added 14 points and seven assists but turned it over five times to go with three steals. Those were the only two Orediggers to score in double figures.
The Knights from Louisville, Kentucky, received 26 points, six assists and six rebounds from Adam Eberhard. Jarek Coles and Ben Weyer both came off the bench to score 11 points, and Weyer had seven rebounds. Bellarmine shot 65.2 percent in the first half and 58.9 percent for the game. Colorado Mines shot only 25 percent in the second half and 37.1 percent for the game.
Colorado Mines swept Fort Lewis College this season with overtime wins to win the conference and a win in the second round of the regional tournament to end the Skyhawks’ season.
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