SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team was outlasted by Westminster, 66-58, on Thursday evening.

Fraser Malcolm had 15 points and eight rebounds to lead the Yellow Jackets (11-6, 8-5 RMAC). Stefan Desnica scored a career-high 14 points, and Makaleb McInnis chipped in 11 points. Desnica was 6-for-8 from the floor in the game, including going 2-for-4 from beyond the arc.

The first half was a back-and-forth low scoring affair between BHSU and one of the top teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Griffins (14-2, 10-2 RMAC) led 5-2 with 15:20 remaining in the half. While the visitors made just one free throw in the next three minutes, the Yellow Jackets got layups by Wyatt Krogman and Desnica, and a trey by Malcolm to take a 9-6 lead with 12:46 left in the first.

The Green and Gold led by five points, 15-10, with 8:16 left, before Westminster came back to take a seven point lead, 25-18, with 1:42 to go in the period. Three-pointers by McInnis and Malcolm in the final minute drew BHSU within three, 27-24, heading into the break.

The Yellow Jackets managed to keep things close for the first seven minutes of the second half. With 13:37 remaining, Desnica drove to the basket and made a layup to draw BHSU back within three, 38-35. The league's top scorer, Dayon Goodman, responded with a layup of his own to start a 9-0 run for the Griffins. Westminster pushed its lead out to as many as 16 points, and although the Yellow Jackets were able to chip away in the final two minutes, the visitors proved too much, and BHSU ultimately fell, 66-58.

BHSU shot 32.1 percent from the field (18-for-56), while WC was 49.0 percent from the floor (25-for-51). The Yellow Jackets were 7-for-34 (20.6 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Griffins were 3-for-10 (30.0 percent) on three-pointers. BHSU was 15-for-17 (88.2 percent) from the free throw line, while Westminster was 13-for-18 (72.2 percent).  The Green and Gold were outrebounded by the Griffins, 42-27.  

For the Griffins, Dayon Goodman led the way with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Quincy Bair added 12 points.

The Green and Gold next head on the road for a five-game stretch. The Yellow Jackets take on Colorado Mesa on January 26, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 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.