RAPID CITY, S.D. – Hoku Fisher surged in the second half, scoring 16 of his career-best 18 points on the night for the Black Hills State Men's Basketball team at the East/West Challenge. However, a comeback attempt fell short as they fell in a neutral site matchup to MSU Moorhead, 86-72, at the King Center on Saturday evening.

Fisher's career-high reset his prior mark that he recorded just a week ago when he scored a dozen against Arkansas-Fort Smith. He reached his scoring output by shooting 7-for-12 on the night, making two of his five three-point tries and adding five rebounds.

Matthew Ragsdale finished as BHSU's leading scorer, putting in 22 on 10-of-17 and making half of his four attempts from deep.

Joel Speckman followed up his breakout showing on Friday with another strong night, contributing a dozen points for the Yellow Jackets, shooting 83.3% along the way and snaring a team-high seven boards.

Jacob Beeninga led a quartet of Dragons in double-figures, scoring a game-high 23 points and was flawless in his 11 tries from the free throw line.

Jamir Price and Gabe Myren contributed 16 and 13 points respectively for MSUM, while Jacob Jannissen posted a double-double with 11 points and a game-best 11 boards.

BHSU converted on 54.5% of their shot attempts in the game, their best mark ever in East/West Challenge competition, however, it was not enough to cover a 7-22 margin in free throws made in the contest.

MSU Moorhead would collect the first five points in this one before a Speckman layup off a nice dish by Ragsdale kick-started the Yellow Jacket offense. BHSU would also score on the ensuing two possessions, but the Dragons had an answer and worked their advantage back to six points with 12:42 in the half. Myles Johnson responded, converting a three-point play ahead of a Ronnail Tape triple, tying the score heading into the under-12 timeout.

The squads would trade blows across the next seven minutes, a stretch that included BHSU's first lead of the contest, although, MSU Moorhead would gradually claim a two-point edge. Ja'Kair Sanchez made a layup sparking an 11-4 run to extend their lead to nine with under a minute left in the half. Speckman converted a pair from the line before Deegan Williams missed a free throw, but chased down the loose ball and made a baseline floater as he got fouled with four seconds remaining. He would miss his chance at the stripe, but Black Hills State was suddenly back within two possessions at the break.

BHSU shot efficiently in the first half, making 53.8% of their shots from the field including three of their five three-point attempts. The Dragons only connected on 41.9% of their shots, but they got to the free throw line plenty, and converted on 11-of-15.

Ragsdale paced the Yellow Jackets with 14 in the first half, on six-for-eight from the field, making both of his three-point attempts. Beeninga led all players, scoring 15 in the stanza, including five from the charity stripe.

The Yellow Jackets came out of halftime firing, with Fisher, Speckman, and Ragsdale getting baskets on the team's first three possessions, extending the BHSU run to 10-0 spanning each side of the break, and claiming the lead in the process. Logan Kinsey responded, burying a three to put MSUM back in front and they would ride that momentum to a 20-4 stretch across the next nine-and-a-half minutes of gametime.

Back-to-back scores from Speckman and a 7-2 run from Fisher constituted an 11-2 stretch that got BH back within six, 63-57, with 6:37 left. However, Dane Zimmer made a three, and then a trio of makes from the charity stripe, with a Fisher hoop mixed in, got the lead back to double-figures and it would stay that way through the final buzzer.

Fisher caught fire in the half, collecting 16 points for BHSU while Speckman and Ragsdale added eight apiece in the comeback attempt. The Dragons had a more balanced scoring output, with five players scoring six or more points in the stanza with Price and Myren leading the charge with nine each.

Black Hills State shot over 55% in the second half, including two-for-six from distance, but also missed five free throws along the way. MSUM only shot 44.1% in the half, but they were buoyed by making 11-of-14 from the line, while also connecting on four triples.

The Yellow Jackets look to get back on track on Tuesday night when they venture to Montana to match up against MSU Billings beginning at 7 PM.