SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Yellow Jacket men's basketball team edged Johnson and Wales, 71-70, on Saturday evening to remain unbeaten on the season. Fraser Malcolm had a double-double to lead the team.    

Malcolm scored 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead BHSU (3-0). It was his second double-double this season. Dez Stoudamire scored 15 points, while Antonio Capley had five points and nine boards off the bench.

"You've got to credit Johnson and Wales for playing hard from beginning to end," said head coach Jeff Trumbauer. "They hit some touch shots and we had some costly turnovers, but at the end of the day we were able to pull the win out, and now it's time to move on to the next game."

After the Wildcats (0-9) took a one point lead with 2:32 remaining, Malcolm scored his 22nd and 23rd points to put the Yellow Jackets back on top, 71-70. With the score the same, JWU had the ball with 20 seconds remaining, and a chance to win the game. Johnson and Wales came down the court, and the Wildcats leading scorer, Andrew Romero III, snagged an offensive rebound off a missed three-pointer. As the buzzer sounded, Romero put up a shot from the top of the key, but Malcolm blocked the shot, sealing the victory for the Green and Gold.

The Yellow Jackets and Wildcats played a back-and-forth game for most of the first half, but BHSU extended its lead to 11 at halftime, taking a 37-26 lead into the break. The home side led by as many as 15 points in the second half, however, JWU chipped away at the lead, coming within one at 63-62 with 4:41 remaining in the game. The Wildcats stayed within three points for the remainder of the game, but Malcolm's last second block ultimately sealed the win for BHSU, who remained unbeaten in the young season.

BHSU shot 49.2 percent from the field (29-for-59), while JWU was 45.8 percent from the floor (27-for-59). The Yellow Jackets were 8-for-23 (34.8 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Wildcats were 6-for-18 (33.3 percent) on three-pointers. The Green and Gold held a substantial 37-29 edge in rebounding.

Romero led all scorers with 26 points, and also pulled down 10 rebounds. Jontrell Herman had 20 points, and King Grant-Parry had 12 points for the Wildcats.

The Green and Gold next travel to Aberdeen, S.D., to take on Northern State on Monday, November 20. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 6 p.m.
  Black Hills State is located in the Northern Black Hills of South Dakota, sponsoring 13 NCAA sports with membership in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the NCAA emerging sport of women's triathlon and NIRA rodeo. For all information regarding Yellow Jacket Athletics, please visit BHSUAthletics.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @BHSUAthletics.