SPEARFISH, S.D. – Stefan Desnica scored a career-high 23 points, as the Black Hills State University men's basketball team defeated South Dakota School of Mines, 69-61, on Friday evening.
Desnica made a career-high seven three pointers to lead the Yellow Jackets (16-10, 15-7 RMAC). He also dished four assists in the win. Makaleb McInnis scored 14 points on his senior night, while Tyler Oliver chipped in 10 points, six rebounds, seven assists, one block, and one steal.
The four Yellow Jacket seniors, Fraser Malcolm, Patrick Mendes, McInnis, and Dez Stoudamire were honored before the game.
Desnica opened the game with a trey, but the Hardrockers (12-18, 9-13 RMAC) responded with five straight points to take a lead. South Dakota Mines eventually pushed their lead out to 12 points, before the Yellow Jackets used a 17-1 run, sparked by a layup by McInnis, and retook the lead, 22-18. The home squad held a four-point lead, 34-30, at the half.
In an end-to-end second half, BHSU outscored SDM, 35-31. Desnica was four-for-five from beyond the arc in the period. The Hardrockers got within five points with just over 16 minutes to play, but the Yellow Jackets quickly pushed the lead to double digits, and secured the eight-point victory, 69-61.
BHSU shot 50.0 percent from the field (26-for-52), while CSM was 41.4 percent from the floor (24-for-58). The Yellow Jackets were 15-for-28 (53.6 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Hardrockers were 7-for-13 (53.8 percent) on three-pointers. BHSU was 2-for-2 (100.0 percent) from the charity stripe, and SDM was 6-for-7 (80.0 percent) from the free throw line. The Green and Gold edged the Hardrockers in rebounding, 31-30.
Logan Elers led the Hardrockers with 15 points, while Jacob Anastasi had 14, and Troy Brady added 10.
With the Yellow Jackets win combined with a Colorado School of Mines win over the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, BHSU has clinched a home playoff game. The Green and Gold will host Colorado Mesa on Tuesday, March 5. Stay tuned to bhsuathletics.com for details.
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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---
