SPEARFISH, S.D. – Matthew Ragsdale stole the show and had the Donald E. Young Center inside A2 Arena crowd on their feet much of the second half with his game-high 29 points on his Senior Day celebration as the Black Hills State University men's basketball team (12-11, 11-7 RMAC) took over sole control of fourth-place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) standings with a 75-63 victory over the Rangers of Regis University (13-12, 10-9 RMAC).

𝙎𝙀𝙉𝙄𝙊𝙍 𝘿𝘼𝙔 𝙒𝙄𝙉 ✅

𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙬 𝙍𝙖𝙜𝙨𝙙𝙖𝙡𝙚 with 29 points on his Senior Day celebrations inside A2 Arena!

BHSU improves to 13-11 (11-7 RMAC).#ClimbTheHills pic.twitter.com/D8vM5u0b6u

— Black Hills State MBB (@BHSUMBB) February 18, 2024

 
It was a John Shanklin (Sr., Bellevue, Neb.) dunk off a Regis miss to start the game inside the Young Center Saturday night. Black Hills State jumped out to a 7-1 lead early with a hot start and leading by four at the first media time out. An offensive lull on both sides ensued until Regis knocked down a deep ball to cut their deficit to one at 7-6. The Rangers would take their first lead on the next possession but Deegan Williams (So., Gillette, Wyo.) hit a 3-pointer of his own.
 
Midway through the first half the Rangers pushed their lead up to five points, 19-14. Five-straight points from BH and the contest was tied up but the Rangers continued aggressive drives to the bucket for scores. An nicely run offensive set stopped a 7-0 Ranger run as Hoku Fisher (So., Wilmington, N.C.) was found all alone under the basket for an easy lay in as Regis would lead 26-21 at the under-eight media break. The game would pick up in pace and intensity in the final eight minutes of the half, as the deep ball became a vocal point for both sides. Black Hills State would pull even with under a minute remaining in the first half and would have the opportunity to take the lead heading into the locker room. Fisher would do just that with a 3-pointer from the top of the key as the clock wound down with the Yellow Jackets taking a 36-33 lead into the locker room.
 
Caelin Hearne (Jr., Norman, Okla.) was tied for the game-high 12 points at the halftime break inside A2 Arena, followed closely behind by Fisher who added 11 points. Hearne shot 5-for-9 from the floor in the first 20 minutes and dished out a pair of assists. Both Fisher and Williams grabbed five rebounds to pace the team.
 
It was Ragsdale (Gr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) who hit a 3-pointer for the first points of the second half for the Yellow Jackets, mainlining a slim lead over the Rangers in the first couple of minutes. Hearne got his bench up in excitement on an and-one opportunity, earning the team's first trip to the free throw line and tied the game up at 42-42 with 17 minutes to play. Heading into the under-16 break, the two sides traded buckets and Ragsdale hit a corner deep ball and a jumper at the free throw line to give BH the 51-46 lead.
 
Back and forth the two teams would go with BHSU holding the 59-57 lead with nine minutes to play. At the under-8 media time out, a previous goaltending call was overturned and the Yellow Jackets took the floor with a six-point, 61-55 lead. Ragsdale continued to heat up, as another 3-pointer put BH up by nine. A Ragsdale 3-pointer again gives BHSU their largest lead of the game at 10 points with a 68-58 at the under-four media break as Ragsdale closed in on 30 points on his Senior Day. Black Hills State continued to pull away in the final minutes, giving Ragsdale a 75-63 Senior Day victory over Regis.
 
GAME NOTES

• BH used a 10-0 run in the second half to pull past the Rangers, shooting 52.7% (30-for-57) from the floor as a team.
• BH shot 44.0% (11-for-25) from deep in the win tonight, marking the eighth time this season the Yellow Jackets have shot better than 40% from deep in a game.
• Matthew Ragsdale records his 15^th 20-point game of the year tonight with his game-high 29 points.
• He now needs just 13 points to reach 1,000 career points as a Yellow Jacket.
• Caelin Hearne stays hot and adds 23 points in the victory, marking his third 20-point game of the season.
• He's now scored 15+ points in five-straight games for BHSU.
• Hoku Fisher added 11 points in the win, scoring all his points in the first half.
• He led the team in both rebounds (9) and assists (3) on the night.
• Deegan Williams grabbed eight rebounds and posted five points.
• With the win, and MSU Denver loss, tonight the Yellow Jackets sit in sole possession of fourth-place in the RMAC (11-7 RMAC) with two weekends remaining (four games).
• This weekend marks the second time the Yellow Jackets swept a weekend home series (Jan. 26-27) in RMAC play.
• The Jackets and Rangers split the regular season series, each defending their home floor this season.
• All-time, BH improves to 14-8 against the Rangers and 8-3 in Spearfish.

Up Next: Black Hills State will hit the road for the final time in the regular season set for the long trip to Fort Lewis and Adams State next weekend. The trip will start with a trip to Durango, Colorado to battle the No. 3/12-ranked Skyhawks of Fort Lewis College (22-2, 17-1 RMAC) on Friday, February 23 with tip-off slated for 7:00 p.m.