Spearfish, S.D. – The Black Hills State men's basketball team led Colorado Mesa (5-1, RMAC 2-0) with 6:01 remaining, but fell to the Mavericks 72-86 on Saturday night.  

Four of the five BHSU starters ended in double digits with Austin Maag leading the way with 19 points. Tanner Adler added 14 points, and Brady Bisgaard and Joey Mitchell each contributed 13. Off the bench Ryan Allen recorded a team-high five rebounds.

"I thought we came out and competed for 40 minutes," said head coach Bradd Schafer. "It says it was a 14-point game, but with four minutes (remaining) it was a one-possession game. I am very proud of our guys and we are going places right now."

Bisgaard propelled the Yellow Jackets to a quick 9-0 lead with seven points in the first two-and-a-half minutes of play. The Mavericks tied the game at 14-14 at 11:00 and both teams went back-and-forth throughout the first half. Maag got the hot hand and led the Yellow Jackets to a 27-20 lead with 4:45 remaining in the first half of play. Offensively, Mesa's Colton Burgon helped bring the Mavericks back and Mesa led 35-33 going into halftime.

The Yellow Jackets shot 41.4 percent from the floor (12-of-29) and the Mavericks shot 48.3 percent (14-of-29). Maag led BHSU with 10 points on 4-of-5 from the floor.

In the second half, the Yellow Jackets kept themselves within striking distance and took the lead, 63-61 with 6:17 remaining. Landon Vermeer came-up clutch for the Mavericks as he sank two 3-pointers that led to the Maverick win.

"I just told our guys in the locker room that we are a possession away or a run away from being 2-0 in the RMAC right now," said Schafer. "There are so many positives going on right now, we can't focus on our record because we are going to get where we need to be. We just need to learn from some simple mistakes that we are making down the stretch of games."

The Yellow Jackets shot 32 percent (8-of-25) from the behind the arc and the Mavericks shot an impressive 72 percent from the floor in the second half. The Yellow Jackets out rebounded the Mavericks 32 to 29. To accompany Bisgaard's 13 points, he recorded six assists and a season-high six steals.  

"His stat lines have been unbelievable and he is going to continue to keep getting better as he continues to grow," said Schafer. "He is our leader and it just shows right now. He is the floor general and he is doing a great job."

Schafer noted that he was pleased with the play off the bench including, Ryan Allen, Kevin Hanes, Riley Ryan and Brody Brisk.

Colorado Mesa was led by Burgon who recorded a game-high 19 points and nine rebounds. Defense continues to be a point of emphasis for Schafer.

"Right now we are in these tight ball games and we have a defensive lapse here-and-there," said Schafer. 

The Yellow Jackets will now go on a four-game road trip starting with Colorado Christian on Friday, Dec. 7. BHSU will not return home until its January 4 contest against Adams State.

"This weekend was big for our team," said Schafer. "There were a lot of question marks coming out of South Dakota Mines and even Dickinson State where we were still trying to figure some things out. From a competing standpoint, we are doing some great things and getting some guys to step-up and show their true colors right now."