DURANGO, Colo. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team came back from a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat Fort Lewis College, 70-66, in overtime on Saturday evening. The Yellow Jackets enter the holiday break 5-0 in conference play, one of just two teams to be undefeated in the RMAC.
Tyler Oliver led the Yellow Jackets (6-3, 5-0 RMAC) with 21 points and nine rebounds. Fraser Malcolm had 16 points, and Connor O'Hearn added 13 and tallied six assists.
The first five minutes were back-and-forth, but the Skyhawks (5-5, 1-4 RMAC) took a one-point lead, 10-9, with 14:42 to play in the first half. From that point, Fort Lewis controlled the half, pushing their lead out to 12 points, 33-21, heading into the break.
The Yellow Jackets came out of the locker room and used a 13-2 run to narrow the gap to just one point, 35-34, with 13:45 to play. The Green and Gold were able to grab a lead on a Malcolm jumper, but the Skyhawks remained close for the final 10 minutes. BHSU held a three-point lead with 12 seconds remaining in regulation, but Kireed Johnson was fouled on a trey attempt, and sunk all three shots from the charity stripe, tying the game up for Fort Lewis, and sending it to overtime.
In the overtime period, the Yellow Jackets led by one before a foul and technical foul gave the Skyhawks four free throws with 2:25 remaining. Alex Semadeni sunk all four shots to put the home team up by three. However, the Green and Gold would go away quietly, as Malcolm came down the court and hit a three-pointer to tie the game. On the ensuing possession, the BHSU defense forced a miss, and Malcolm scored on a layup to give the visitors a two-point cushion. Stout defense and a pair of free throws down the stretch secured the victory for the Yellow Jackets, 70-66.
BHSU shot 44.2 percent from the field (23-for-52), while FLC was 34.4 percent from the floor (21-for-61). The Yellow Jackets were 10-for-29 (34.5 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Skyhawks were 4-for-24 (16.7 percent) on three-pointers. BHSU was 14-for-18 (76.9 percent) from the charity stripe, and FLC was 20-for-25 (80.0 percent) from the free throw line. The Green and Gold outrebounded Fort Lewis, 41-31.
Semadeni led the Skyhawks with 21 points, while Marquel Beasley and AJ Sparks each added 12.
The Green and Gold will be off for the holidays. They will next be in action at Western State Colorado University on January 4. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m.
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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.
---BHSUAthletics.com---
