SPEARFISH, S.D. – Two players scored over 20 points, as the Black Hills State University men's basketball team defeated Colorado Mesa University, 84-74, on Saturday evening. The game was senior night for Zach McLemore, Wyatt Krogman, and student assistant coach Thomas Bush.  

Fraser Malcolm scored 21 points and had nine rebounds while Dez Stoudamire recorded 22 points and six rebounds to lead the Yellow Jackets (114-10, 11-9 RMAC). Makaleb McInnis and Connor O'Hearn each chipped in 11 points, while Krogman had six assists.

The Mavericks (11-15, 7-13 RMAC) got out to a 5-0 lead. BHSU eventually chipped away and took the lead, 19-18, with 10:04 remaining in the half when Malcolm dunked a pass from Stoudamire. The Yellow Jackets went up by as many as seven, but a 12-3 run by Colorado Mesa gave the visitors a 37-35 lead at halftime.

Brandon Hoffer knocked out a jumper to open the scoring for the Mavericks in the second half. However, the Green and Gold responded with a 20-4 run to go up by a game-high 12 points. The Mavericks got within two points with 11:32 remaining in the game, but the Yellow Jackets again pushed the lead out, earning the vital conference victory by a score of 84-74.

BHSU shot 45.5 percent from the field (25-for-55), while CMU was 48.4 percent from the floor (31-for-64). The Yellow Jackets were 13-for-22 (59.1 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Mavericks were 5-for-17 (29.4 percent) on three-pointers. BHSU was 21-for-25 (84.0 percent) from the free throw line, while Colorado Mesa was 7-for-9 (77.8 percent).  The Green and Gold outrebounded the Mavericks, 35-33.

Connor Nichols led all scorers with 27, while Emilio Acedo added 18 points for the Mavericks.

The Green and Gold next travel to Chadron State on Friday, February 23. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 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.