GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - #5 Colorado School of Mines advanced to the RMAC Tournament final for the second consecutive year, holding off Black Hills State down the stretch in a 71-64 semifinal win.

The Orediggers (16-1) set up a rematch of the 2020 final against #4 Colorado Mesa, which defeated Adams State in the previous semifinal. That game will be played Saturday at 6 p.m. in Grand Junction.

The post combo of Austin Means and Michael Glen led the way for Mines, with Means scoring a team-high 15 points with five rebounds and Glen posting 13 points and seven boards. Brendan Sullivan pitched in 12 and Trent Dykema scored 11 off the bench. Joel Scott led all scorers with a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double for BHSU (11-7) and Adam Moussa had 16.

It was a nerve-wracking final 10 minutes for the Orediggers, who saw an 11-point second-half lead evaporate before securing the victory at the line in the final 90 seconds. Leading 46-35 with 14 minutes to go after a Means layup and Dykema three-pointer back-to-back capped an 11-2 run, the Yellow Jackets responded with a 21-9 stretch over the next 4:44 to take the lead, 56-55, with 8:58 remaining. Every point was crucial after that, with Sullivan's layup and a pair of Means free throws retaking the lead before Glen's clutch three-pointer with 6:06 to go made it 63-58 Orediggers.

Scott and Sindou Cisse answered with consecutive buckets to draw it back within a point, but Titus Reed's layup off the bench with 4:02 remaining would prove to be the final field goal of the game for either team. Although Mines didn't score for the next two-and-a-half minutes, BHSU managed just two foul shots in the same span, and Means, Kobi Betts, and Sullivan combined for six points at the line in the final 1:24 to secure the victory as the Yellow Jackets ended the game on a 4:31 field-goal drought.

NOTABLES
- Mines and Mesa met in last year's RMAC Tournament final, a 69-61 CMU win. The two teams - both ranked in the NABC top five - were the #1- and #2-ranked teams in this week's NCAA regional rankings, and both seem to be locks for the NCAA tournament regardless of Saturday's outcome.
- The Orediggers are trying to win their third RMAC Tournament all-time, joining trophies in 2012 and 2017.
- Mines shot .456 overall, but struggled beyond the arc (.222) and at the line (.682). BHSU shot .453, but was 8-of-17 (.471) for three and .727 at the line.
- Mines held a 34-30 rebounding edge. 
- The bench combo of Titus Reed and Trent Dykema combined for 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Reed also added two blocks and a steal.
- Black Hills State was the only team to take Mines into overtime during the regular season when the Orediggers won 85-83 in Spearfish on Jan. 4.
- Mines held the RMAC's #1 scoring offense to 14.9 points below its season average of 78.9.