SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team bounced back on Saturday afternoon as they notched their fourth consecutive RMAC home opening win with an 89-69 victory over Chadron State. It was a balanced offensive attack that paved the way for the Yellow Jackets in A2 Arena, as five players scored in double figures while the team shot 35-of-70 (50.0%) from the field and tallied a season-high of 23 assists, the most in a game for BHSU since a February 23, 2023, match-up at Chadron State.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 89, Chadron State 69
Team Records: Black Hills State 5-5 (1-1 RMAC), Chadron State 4-5 (1-1 RMAC)
Attendance: 1,831
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• With Darrius Miles scoring the first basket of the game with a jumper off the right block and a pair of free throws by Dalton Peterson, Chadron State held leads of 2-0 and 4-3 early on, holding the advantage for just 52 seconds before Black Hills State took things over.
• Wih a fastbreak left-handed layup by Caelin Hearne off the throw ahead pass from Jaeton Hackley, the Yellow Jackets took the lead for good with 17:16 left in the first half. The basket sparked a 16-3 scoring run for BHSU over the next 5:23 of game time as BJ Woodruff eventually pushed the lead to double digits for the first time (19-7) with 11:54 to play as he knocked down a left-corner 3-pointer off the extra pass from Hackley.
• With back-and-forth action, the Eagles trimmed the lead back to single digits briefly, however, a pair of 3-pointers by Tristan Hurdle from the left-wing sparked an 11-0 scoring run for the Yellow Jackets as a right-wing 3-pointer by Hearne off the dish from Cam Lowe gave them their largest lead of the first half at 18 points (32-14) with 7:20 remaining till the break.
• Chadron State chipped away at the Black Hills State lead the final seven minutes of the first half, outscoring the Yellow Jackets 21-13 over the time span as they shot 7-of-10 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line, bringing the score to 45-35 at halftime as Zach Smith connected on a midrange jumper from the left side of the court with 32 seconds left on the clock.
• With the teams going back-and-forth in the opening minutes of the second half, it wasn't until 15:00 remained on the clock that Woodruff connected on a left-corner 3-pointer off a kickout pass from Hurdle that sparked a 12-0 scoring run. Capping the run was a reverse layup with the right hand by Hearne after a pass inside from Lowe, giving BHSU their largest lead of the game at 22 points (66-44) with 10:32 to play.
• During the 12-0 second half scoring run for Black Hills State, the Yellow Jackets held the Eagles without a made basket from the field for 5:20 of game time until John Jenkins knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key off the kickout pass from Jalen Thomas's drive to the hoop, making it a 66-49 game with 9:53 on the clock.
• CSC eventually trimmed the BHSU lead down to 13 points with 1:42 to play in the game as Treyson Neff knocked down a deep right-wing 3-pointer to make it an 82-69 contest. The Yellow Jackets, however, did not allow the Eagles to get any closer as they scored the final seven points of the game as Woodruff's right-handed layup with the game clock ticking down to 20 seconds ended the scoring in the match-up.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Caelin Hearne: 21 points, 9-of-15 field goals, 3 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
BJ Woodruff: 15 points, 5-of-10 field goals, 3 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Jaeton Hackley: 13 points, 2 3-pointers, 10 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals
Cam Lowe: 13 points, 3 3-pointers, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Jack Haggett: 10 points, 4-of-5 field goals, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will begin their final week of play in the 2024 calendar year with a trip to UCCS on Thursday, December 12, as they are slated for a 7 p.m. tip-off in the Gallogly Events Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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