PUEBLO, Colo. – Black Hills State men's basketball won a back-and-forth matchup against CSU Pueblo, 75-57 Saturday night.

The Yellow Jackets (16-1, 10-1 RMAC) shot at a 57.1 percent clip from the field in the second half to take command of the game after a tight first half.

Joel Scott led the way with 29 points and 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season, while also recording three blocks.

Scott surpassed former Yellow Jacket Cain Atkinson (2007-11) in total career points during the game to hold sole second place on the all-time list with 2,034 career points. He is now 146 points behind the school record of 2,180 held by Kim Templeton (1972-76).

PJ Hayes had a team-high seven assists while finishing with 16 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Matthew Ragsdale totaled 11 points and five rebounds while Sindou Cisse had nine points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Caelin Hearne continued his strong January with an 8-point, 5-rebound performance on the night.

Teams traded blows to open the game as six early points from Scott helped push a 12-12 tie with 13:28 left in the first. Back-and forth play continued as CSUP moved ahead, and then a Donovan jumper and Scott layup put BHSU back ahead once again, 16-14, as the clock ticked under 10.

Minutes later, the ThunderWolves would re-take the lead, 19-16, but the Yellow Jackets answered with a layup and 3-pointer from Ragsdale on back-to-back possessions to take a 21-19 lead with 6:05 to go in the first.

Both squads traded buckets the rest of the first half as a trey and a jumper by Hayes, and a Scott layup sent BHSU to the locker room with a 28-25 lead following a first half that saw eight ties and nine lead changes.

Into the second half, a Scott three at 15:10 kicked off a 13-0 scoring run, propelled by layups from Hayes, Scott, Cisse and Ragsdale, to put the Yellow Jackets up 50-38 midway through the final period.

CSUP inched back to within six as time ticked under seven minutes remaining, but a Hayes triple and Hearne layup stalled any ThunderWolves momentum as BHSU extended its lead to 61-48 on a pair of Cisse free throws.

In the final minutes, BHSU went 3-of-4 from the charity stripe to go along with a pair of Hearne 3-pointers to secure the 75-57 win.

Up Next
The Yellow Jackets return home next week for a pair of weekday home games, starting Tuesday, Jan. 24 when the men host rival South Dakota Mines on Break the Attendance Record night.

Then on Thursday, Jan. 26 which will be Academic Achievement Recognition Night, BHSU will take on Colorado Christian. Both games are set to tip off at 7 p.m.