ALPINE, Texas – For the second consecutive night in the Far West Texas Showdown, the Black Hills State University men's basketball team lead from start to finish as they have yet to trail this season following an 82-60 victory over the hosts of Sul Ross State in the Gallego Center. The Yellow Jackets started strong from the tip with an 11-0 run, with seven of the points from Cam Lowe as he set the tone and went on to lead a trio of BHSU athletes in double figures scoring. The Green & Gold held the Lobo offense in check throughout the duration of the match-up, limiting them to just 29.4 percent shooting from the field, the lowest shooting percentage by an opponent since Montana State Billings shot 20.6 percent in a November 23, 2022, game.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 82, Sul Ross State 60
Team Records: Black Hills State 2-0, Sul Ross State 0-2
Attendance: 88
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Cam Lowe cashed in on four free throws and a 3-pointer for seven early points as Black Hills State raced out to an early 11-0 advantage with 16:26 remaining in the first half. Out of the first media timeout, Sul Ross State eventually made their first basket just over four and a half minutes in as Bryce Harris made a layup on a second chance opportunity, however the Yellow Jackets quickly answered as Jaeton Hackley knocked down a left corner 3-pointer to push the lead to 14-2 with 15:12 remaining in the first half.
• An old fashioned 3-point play by John Shanklin pushed the Yellow Jacket lead to 20-5 midway through the first half, while on the other end of the court the BHSU defense continued to hold SRSU in check early in the contest with a nearly four minute scoreless stretch until a basket at the rim by Myles Amason cut the lead back down to 20-7 with 9:55 left on the clock.
• Each team experienced droughts of not being able to make a field goal late in the half as Black Hills State ended a more than four and a half minute sequence with a right wing 3-pointer by Caelin Hearne with 5:39 left on the clock off an assist from Deegan Williams. Hearne had an opportunity to convert a 4-point play, but the free throw went long and after a pair of offensive rebounds by Tristan Hurdle he eventually recorded the second chance points as he added a layup to push the Yellow Jacket scoring run to 8-0 and make it a 30-9 lead with 5:31 remaining in the half. The next possession the Lobos ended their field goal drought of nearly five minutes with a 3-pointer from the right wing by Louie Yebra to make it a 30-12 game.
• The Yellow Jackets connected on a trio of 3-pointers in the final five minutes of the half as Hearne knocked down a shot from the left wing with 4:08 on the clock, Lowe connected on a shot from the left corner off an assist by Shanklin with 2:08 left, and in the closing seconds Dawson Mohr hit a right corner shot off a cross court pass from Williams to make it a 41-19 advantage at the break for BHSU. Black Hills State connected on six shots from beyond the arc in the first half.
• Cam Clardy came out of the locker room red hot for Sul Ross State in the second half as he scored nine of the Lobos first 11 points in the half following a 3-pointer off a screen on the right wing to make it a 50-30 game entering a timeout with 16:19 left in the game.
• Ethan Yancy was able to rattle home a right wing 3-pointer to cap a 9-0 scoring run for SRSU to pull the Lobos within 15 points (54-39) with 13:27 left in the contest, however Black Hills State was eventually able to end the run as BJ Woodruff found Williams in the right corner as he sank the 3-pointer with just over 13 minutes remaining on the clock. The basket sparked a response for the Yellow Jackets as they strung together a 7-0 run of their own with layups by Joel Speckman and Hearne to extend the lead back to 61-39 with 11:17 left as the teams entered the media timeout. The scoring run for the Green & Gold grew to 11-2 for a 65-41 advantage as Woodruff found Speckman cutting to the rim for another left handed layup. During the run Speckman scored six of the last eight points for the Yellow Jackets.
• Black Hills State once again matched their largest lead of the afternoon at 28 points (75-47) as Lowe capped a 10-3 scoring run with a left corner 3-pointer with 4:57 left on the clock, and then the ensuing Yellow Jacket possession after a basket by the Lobos, Hearne found Shanklin in the paint for a basket to make 77-49 with 4:30 remaining in the contest.
• Sul Ross State closed the game on an 11-5 run to trim the Black Hills State margin to 82-60.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Cam Lowe: 16 points, 3-of-5 3-pointers, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
Caelin Hearne: 15 points, 3-of-8 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
Joel Speckman: 15 points, 5-of-6 field goals, 9 rebounds, 1 assist
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will play their home opener on Friday, November 15, against No. 4 MSU Moorhead as part of the East/West Challenge. The Yellow Jackets and Dragons are slated for approximately a 7:30 p.m. tip-off in A2 Arena in Spearfish.
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