LAS VEGAS, N.M. – Black Hills State men's basketball used a huge second half to roll past New Mexico Highlands, 82-57 Friday night.

The Yellow Jackets (15-1, 9-1 RMAC) finished the night shooting at a 53.2 percent clip from the field and 41.7 percent from deep, and would outscore the Cowboys 47-26 in the second half.

Joel Scott led the scoring attack with 23 points and 11 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. He also tallied a block and three steals.

Matthew Ragsdale added 19 points, going 8-of-16 from the field and 3-of-6 from deep to go along with four rebounds and six assists.

PJ Hayes went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and tallied 13 points, seven rebounds and a steal.

Caelin Hearne and John Shanklin each tallied eight points on the night.

Both teams were slow to start the game before Ragsdale opened the scoring with a 3-pointer three minutes into the game. Shortly after, he drained another triple to help put BHSU ahead 8-3 with 15:55 left in the first.

After trading buckets over the next few possessions, NMHU would take a 13-12 lead with a triple at 13:08. Back-and-forth play took over again from there, and the Cowboys held the advantage until Hayes drilled a 3-pointer to even the game 29-all with 4:19 to go.

Then, entering the final minute of play in the first, Hearne hit a 3-pointer from the corner to put the Yellow Jackets back ahead 32-29 and they wouldn't trail the rest of the way. In the closing seconds, Hayes hit one final three to send BHSU into the locker room with a 35-31 lead.

The Yellow Jackets came out of the break on fire, rattling off an 18-4 scoring run with the help of dunks from Hayes and Scott over the opening five minutes of the half to extend to a 53-35 lead.

Then a Hearne three and a Sava Dukic layup gave BHSU it's first 20-point lead, making the score 58-37 with 13:13 left on the clock.

The Yellow Jackets wouldn't let up from there as a Shanklin dunk, and layups from Scott and Ragsdale over the next several minutes made it a 73-46 game with 4:28 remaining.

Down the stretch, six points from Shanklin and a Hoku Fisher triple eventually sealed the 82-37 victory.

Up Next
The Yellow Jackets head to Pueblo, Colo. to take on the ThunderWolves on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m.