RAPID CITY, S.D. – Despite shooting a season-best 60.0 percent from the field, Black Hills State saw UMary hang around in hopes stealing a neutral site win, however a commanding 26-7 scoring run in the final 7:39 of game time propelled the Yellow Jackets to a 90-68 victory on Friday afternoon in the King Center in the first game of the inaugural Dakota Challenge. It was the best shooting performance for BHSU since they shot 61.1 percent in a win over Regis on February 11, 2023, as they improved to 10-0 under head coach
Ryan Thompson when shooting better than 60.0 percent in a game.
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 90, UMary 68
Team Records: Black Hills State 4-3, UMary 2-7 (1-0 NSIC)
Attendance: 210
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Jack Haggett opened the scoring in the contest with a second chance scoring opportunity, laying the ball up into the hoop following his own miss, making it a 2-0 game just 50 seconds in.
- Starting with a straightaway 3-pointer by Ty Rogers, UMary used a 9-0 scoring run to take a 13-8 advantage on a turnaround jumper by Kevin McGaskey with 14:08 remaining in the first half. The run was halted by a Joel Speckman layup following a pass from Haggett the ensuing possession.
- The fourth and final lead change of the contest occurred in the midst of a 15-0 run for the Yellow Jackets that saw a left-corner 3-pointer by Deegan Williams give BHSU a 15-13 lead, and then after a steal by Williams and a breakout pass to BJ Woodruff that led to a 2-handed dunk by Speckman the Marauders were forced to call a timeout as the margin grew to 23-13 with 9:34 left in the opening half.
- Following the UMary timeout, Black Hills State led by as many as 14 points in the first half as Cam Lowe knocked down a step back 3-pointer on the left-wing to make it a 29-15 contest with 8:21 to play till the break, however the Marauders quickly trimmed the lead down to single digits (29-21) with six unanswered points in just the next minute of action. UMary eventually got the BHSU lead down to just five points (35-30) on a left-wing 3-pointer by Cayden Redfield with 2:22 on the clock.
- Jaeton Hackley capped a 9-4 scoring run for the Yellow Jackets as he connected on a turnaround jumper in the paint with 12 seconds left to give Black Hills State the 44-34 advantage at halftime.
- A quick steal and layup for Jeremiah Jones set the tone for UMary in the first couple of minutes in the second half, sparking an 8-0 that was capped by a steal and layup by McGaskey that brought the BHSU lead down to 44-42 with 17:40 to play and forcing a Yellow Jacket timeout. Ending the run and scoring the first points of the half for Black Hills State was Hackley who connected on a floater on a drive from the left-wing with 17:11 on the clock.
- While Black Hills State maintained their lead it remained single digits, and UMary was only able to get the margin down to a single possession as Rogers hit a pair of free throws with 7:50 to play in the game as cut the lead to 64-61. Starting with a 2-of-2 trip to the charity stripe by Lowe with 7:37 remaining on the ensuing possession, the Yellow Jackets scored 14 unanswered points to take their largest lead up to that point at 17 points (78-61) with just 4:10 to play after another pair of free throws by Lowe.
- A pair of free throws by Jackson Edman gave the Black Hills State their largest lead of the game at 22 points (90-68) with just 14 seconds left in the game. The Yellow Jackets closed out the final 7:39 of game time on a 26-7 scoring run to take control of the game.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Jaeton Hackley: 19 points, 8-of-15 field goals, 1 rebound, 1 steal
Cam Lowe: 14 points, 2-of-3 3-pointers, 6-of-6 free throws, 2 rebounds
Jack Haggett: 13 points, 4-of-6 field goals, 4 rebounds
Caelin Hearne: 13 points, 5-of-6 free throws, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will end the inaugural Dakota Challenge with another tough test against an NSIC foe as they take on Minot State on Saturday, November 30, at 2 p.m. in the King Center.
