Box Score SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team extended a three-point halftime lead to a 10-point, 78-68, win over CSU-Pueblo on Friday night from the Young Center.
With the win, the Yellow Jackets now move to 10-14 overall and 8-12 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Jacket guard, Joey Mitchell, began the game with four 3-pointers to lead the Jackets in the opening half with 12 points before finishing with 18 points (6-10 FG, 5-8 3-pt) and five rebounds. Senior, Tommy Earl, also finished with 18 on the night on 5-of-11 shooting (5-6 FT) and three boards.
Mitchell set the tone early with the long ball and the rest of his team followed suite as the Jackets found a sizable advantage from beyond the arch after going 12-of-24 (50-pct) on 3-pointers as a team. CSUP meanwhile went 7-of-32 from 3-point land (21.9-pct).
BHSU shot 37.5-percent in the first half and improved to an impressive 52-percent shooting in the second half (13-25 FG) on way to going 25-of-57 overall, good for 43.9-percent as a team as CSUP finishing at 35.2-percent (25-71 FG).
Other Yellow Jackets that provided crucial minutes down the stretch were Riley Ryan and Yoshio Allen. Ryan hit a few momentum-swinging shots to help extend the lead as he finished with 11 points, five rebounds, and had a team-high five assists. Allen led the team with nine rebounds and had six points as he battled with CSUP big man, Tyrone Marshall, for the majority of the second half.
Yellow Jacket guard, Myles Henry, proved to be an important piece of the puzzle to counter an athletic CSUP team, after going for nine points and eight rebounds with a steal.
After sitting out nearly the entire first half after playing just five minutes before picking up two fouls, CSUP point guard, Nathan Tigner, led his team by game's end with 19 points and three steals.
The Thunderwolves also had key points from guard, Wendell Lee, who scored 12 and had five boards as Marshall finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, four blocks, and two steals.
BHSU outrebounded the Thunderwolves 43 to 34, while bringing down 37 defensive rebounds to CSUP's 24. The Jackets also showed some depth as they had 30 bench points in the game.
Next up tomorrow night on Senior Night for the Jackets is UC-Colorado Springs with tip-off schedule for 7:30 p.m.
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