GUNNISON, Colo. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team fell to Western State, 90-76, on Saturday evening.

Fraser Malcolm had 24 points and seven rebounds to lead the Yellow Jackets (11-8, 8-7 RMAC). Makaleb McInnis recorded 17 points, and Wyatt Krogman chipped in 12.  

The first half was a game of runs. The Mountaineers (9-12, 7-8 RMAC) led by six, 21-15, with 12:46 remaining, before the Yellow Jackets led by nine after a three-pointer by Zach McLemore with 6:51 left. Western State then used a 19-4 run to take a six-point lead, 46-40, into halftime.

Western State started the second half on an 8-2 run to take control of the game, up by 12 points. The Mountaineers pushed their lead out to as many as 15, and although BHSU were able to get it down to single digits, 76-67, with seven minutes to play, and again with five minutes to play, hot shooting by the home team sealed the win for the Mountaineers, 90-76. The Yellow Jackets are now 1-6 on the road.

BHSU shot 48.0 percent from the field (24-for-50), while Western State was 54.3 percent from the floor (25-for-46). The Yellow Jackets were 9-for-25 (36.0 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Mountaineers were 12-for-23 (52.2 percent) on three-pointers. BHSU was 19-for-24 (79.2 percent) from the free throw line, while Western State was 28-for-38 (73.7 percent).  The Green and Gold were outrebounded by the Griffins, 31-25.  

Ben Beauchamp led all scorers with 30 points, while Collin Smith had 23 and Quincy Harding scored 18 for the Mountaineers.

The Green and Gold next travel to MSU Denver on Friday, February 2. 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.