CANYON, Texas - Black Hills State men's basketball used a huge second half to defeat No. 3 Colorado School of Mines, 68-48, in Saturday's South Central Region quarterfinal matchup.

The Yellow Jackets (26-5, 18-4 RMAC) outscored CSM, 39-17 in the second half and held them to 0-10 from beyond the arc.

Joel Scott was one of four in double-digit scoring with 13 points along with nine rebounds.

PJ Hayes and Matthew Ragsdale each finished with 12 points while Hayes totaled eight rebounds and Ragsdale grabbed four.

Sindou Cisse went 5-of-13 from the floor, scoring 10, and also dished a team-high four assists.

Jaeton Hackley totaled eight points and five rebounds, Caelin Hearne scored seven and Ryker Cisarik scored six.



After a 5-5 start, CSM moved out front 11-5 before the Yellow Jackets began inching back. A hook from Hackley and a pair of second-chance buckets from Cisarik pulled BHSU to within 20-16 midway through the first.

Both teams went cold until an Oredigger three extended their lead to 23-16 with 6:32 before halftime. A Hayes triple snapped the Yellow Jackets' scoring drought at 5:37 to make it 25-19 before a Cisse step-back and a Hearne 3-pointer made it a one-possession game, 27-24 in the final minutes of the first.

After the final media break of the opening half, back-to-back layups from Scott and Cisarik gave the Yellow Jackets their first lead, 28-27, since the opening shot of the game. CSM would use a 4-1 spurt from there to hold a 31-29 lead into halftime.

Out of the locker room, BHSU put up eight unanswered behind a Ragsdale trey put BHSU up 37-31 with under 16 minutes remaining. The Yellow Jackets extended their lead to 44-36 using big steals from Hackley, Cisarik and Hayes while the offense saw a Hearne layup and Hackley 3-pointer fall through.

BHSU added on from there with another Hayes three and free throws from Hayes and Scott, stretching the lead to 55-43 with under seven to play.

That turned into a 15-1 run using a pair of Ragsdale jumpers and a Scott dunk, giving the Yellow Jackets their first 20-point lead, 64-44 with 3:51 remaining.

That margin held the rest of the way with a pair of Scott layups as BHSU went on to win 68-48.

Notes

• As a program, the Yellow Jackets are 5-1 all time in NCAA Tournament play.
• With nine rebounds, Joel Scott now sits at 945 for his career, 55 shy of 1,000.
• Scott and Ragsdale have combined for 1,123 points so far this season, giving them the most combined points by a pair of NCAA teammates who were also high school teammates, surpassing 1,047 scored by Dick and Tom Van Arsdale at Indiana in the 1963-64 season.

Up Next
The Yellow Jackets advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and will take on No. 2 Fort Lewis on Saturday, March 12 at 4 p.m. MT.