Spearfish, S.D. – It was a game of ups-and-downs as Black Hills State men's basketball team lost to South Dakota Mines 61-69 on Tuesday night.

Tanner Adler was the leading scorer for the Yellow Jackets with 20 points and Joey Mitchell added 13.  Cameron Anderson and Austin Maag led BHSU with six rebounds each. Brady Bisgaard added six assists and a team-high four steals. Ryan Allen was the sparkplug off the bench, recording five points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks.

"The biggest thing for us was that we came out ready to play," said head coach Bradd Schafer. "We have to recognize the flow of the game a little bit better and I thought when we came down and took quick shots that led to some offensive run out and gave them some offensive opportunities. It hurt our defense."

In the first half, the Yellow Jackets started strong out of the gate hitting five 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes and keeping the Hardrockers off the scoreboard for almost the first three minutes of play. Adler led the Yellow Jackets with 10 points in the first half. Allen came-up with strong play off the bench in the first half with four points, three assists and three steals. Allen also had an impressive play as he went to the ground for a loose ball and acrobatically passed it ahead to Adler for a one-handed jam that made the Young Center rumble. Sophomore starter Austing Maag picked-up two quick fouls and recorded no points in the first half. The Yellow Jackets trailed 31-36 going into the halftime.  

Similiar to the beginning of the first half, the Yellow Jackets came out with focus and intensity in the second half. BHSU quickly brought themselves back into the game and re-took the lead, 43-41, at 14:26. The Yellow Jackets went on a scoring drought for three minutes and the Hardrockers took the lead with consistent free throw shooting. The game was tied 55-55 with 4:55 remaining. The Hardrockers were able to outlast the Yellow Jackets down the stretch to record the 61-68 victory.

The Hardrockers were led by Konor Kulas who scored 15 points off the bench.

The Yellow Jackets shot 36.5 percent (23-of-63) from the floor and 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from the free-throw stripe. The Yellow Jackets won the turnover battle as they forced 15 Hardrocker turnovers.   

"That's what we are searching for right now, a 40-minute basketball game," said Schafer. "The same thing happened in the second half, we were able to build a lead again and relaxed and it came back to bite us."

The Yellow Jackets will play non-conference opponent Dickinson State on Monday, Nov. 26 at 7:00 pm.

"We are just looking for consistency," said Schafer. "I think when we do, we showed signs tonight that we will be a pretty good team."