Mountain Lions beat South Dakota Mines to salvage split at Perkins Classic

SPEARFISH, S.D. â€" Alex Snyder, Cole Smith and Luke Hristou combined for 46 points as the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs completed its participation in the Perkins Classic Wednesday evening with a 76-67 victory over the South Dakota Mines Hardrockers at the Young Center.

Snyder had 16 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field while Smith and Hristou each had 15. Smith made seven of his nine field goal attempts and Hristou went 5-for-8 as the Mountain Lions shot 55.8 percent from the field.

Snyder also went 8-for-9 from the foul line as UCCS had by far its best free throw shooting game of the season, making 25-of-28 (89.3 percent).

The free throw accuracy was needed since South Dakota Mines was afforded more opportunities. Smith and fellow center Tommy Klausner both fouled out after combining for only 35 minutes played and UCCS was whistled for a whopping 34 fouls as a team. Those calls resulted in 39 Hardrocker free throw attempts, 23 of which were converted.

Kyle Turpin and Kyle Doerr each had 15 points to lead South Dakota Mines (9-5).

The Mountain Lions used ball movement to create quality shots. Snyder was credited with five of the teamâ€^TMs 16 assists as UCCS went 21-for-32 from inside the 3-point arc. The focus on passing did, however, result in 25 turnovers.

Defensively, UCCS held the Hardrockers to 36.2 percent shooting from the field, including a 2-for-13 mark from 3-point range.

Klausner grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to go along with his eight points and three blocked shots,