OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Black Hills State men's basketball opened the 2022-23 season with a 73-49 victory over Arkansas Fort Smith on Friday night.

The Yellow Jackets (1-0) made 11 threes, all coming in the first half to help them shoot at a 42.3 percent clip from beyond the arc.

Joel Scott and Matthew Ragsdale let the offense, totaling 23 and 13 points respectively. Scott added eight rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Ragsdale grabbed three boards.

Adam Moussa dished out a team-high seven assists to go with his 10 points and three rebounds.

PJ Hayes was also in double-digit scoring with 12 points.

The offense came out hot, taking a 16-7 lead on a Moussa jumper at 13:39 in the first, and then 19-11 on a Hayes 3-pointer midway through the half.

UAFS scored six straight from there to pull to within two (19-17) before a Hayes layup and back-to-back threes from Ragsdale gave BHSU its first double-digit lead at 27-17. After a UAFS free throw, the Yellow Jackets rattled off a 10-0 run behind threes from Hayes and Scott to extend to a 37-18 lead with 5:27 to go in the first.

Teams traded shots the rest of the half as BHSU went into the break on a Ragsdale three to hold a 48-27 advantage.

Out of the break, baskets from Scott and Ragsdale and a Hayes dunk made it 55-33 five minutes into the second. The Yellow Jackets held their margin of victory the rest of the way, using a 3-point play from Scott midway through the half to make it 62-40.

Down the stretch, free throws from Dukic and Moussa would eventually seal the win, 73-49.

Up Next
The Yellow Jackets take on the Oklahoma Christian Eagles tomorrow at 3 p.m. MT to wrap up the Rocky Mountain/Lone Star Challenge.