DENVER, Colo. – What a difference a night makes. The Black Hills State University men's basketball team dominated with a 56.0 percent shooting night while defeating Regis University 84-59 Saturday night in Denver, Colorado.

The Yellow Jackets made 28-of-50 field goals, a night after shooting just 37.7 percent in a loss at Chadron State. Nick Ongarato kept his hot-streak going with a game-high 24 points, his fourth 20-point game of the season. Fellow senior Tate Hilgenkamp netted a career-high 21 points while Wyatt Krogman added 10 points and six assists.

After taking the lead on a Krogman 3-point basket at 9-6 with 14:52 in the first half, the Yellow Jackets (3-4, 1-2 RMAC) never looked back as the Rangers (3-6, 1-2 RMAC) shot 38.6 percent (22-of-57) from the field. The Green and Gold used a quick 7-0 spurt to open a 13-point lead in the closing minutes of the first half.

The run began with a Sam Mayer layup and continued after a Regis turnover that saw Mayer dunk for the first time this season, and a 34-24 lead with 1:38 remaining. Fraser Malcolm got in on the run when he had an old-fashioned three-point play when he was fouled on a layup.

After a pair of Regis free throws, the Yellow Jackets entered intermission with a 37-26 lead.

Coming out of the break, Regis attempted to make a comeback, cutting the deficit to four points when Dexter Sienko scored two of his team-high 21 points for the 39-35 score. However, the Yellow Jackets stung any chance of the comeback, embarking on a 16-0 run that began with a layup from Max Mueller.

The run continued with free throws from Ongarato and Riley Ryan, a trey from Hilgenkamp and a dunk from Patrick Mendes and a 50-35 score. The run concluded with a 3-point basket from Ongarato and a layup from Hilgenkamp with the 55-35 lead with 12:06 remaining in the game.

The lead eventually ballooned to 25 pints, a mark that was hit when Ongarato sank a trey with nine seconds remaining.

Black Hills State earns its first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory of the season along with its first road win, going 15-of-30 from long range including 6-of-10 from Ongrato and 5-of-8 from Hilgenkamp. Mayer, Mueller and Ryan each tallied a team-high five rebounds while the Yellow Jackets won that portion of the game 38-23.

The Yellow Jackets also scored 19 points off turnovers and led for 35:05 of the game.

Black Hills State returns to the Young Center for the final two contests before the holiday break, hosting New Mexico Highlands on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Western New Mexico Saturday at 6 p.m.