SPEARFISH, S.D. – A trio of Yellow Jackets score in double digits in front of the home crowd for the final time this season as the Black Hills State men's basketball team (17-12, 14-8 RMAC) takes down the No. 5-seed MSU Denver Roadrunners (19-10, 13-9 RMAC) Tuesday night in the Quarterfinals of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Tournament.

𝙎𝙐𝙍𝙑𝙄𝙑𝙀 & 𝘼𝘿𝙑𝘼𝙉𝘾𝙀!

𝘾𝙖𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚 and 𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙬 𝙍𝙖𝙜𝙨𝙙𝙖𝙡𝙚 both with 18 points as BHSU uses 5⃣ blocks to get past MSU Denver!#ClimbTheHills pic.twitter.com/xbtS2X7Kop

— Black Hills State MBB (@BHSUMBB) March 6, 2024

 
The two teams traded buckets early in the contest as BHSU held an 8-6 lead at the first media time out of the night. With just over 13 minutes left in the first half, the Roadrunners would take their final lead of the night at 11-10 before Matthew Ragsdale (Gr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) knocked down his lone three of the night to give Black Hills State their final lead of the night. That would spark a 9-0 run as the Yellow Jackets would open a 19-11 lead at the midway point of the first half.
 
MSU Denver would pull to within four points soon thereafter, but before long BH opened up their first double-digit lead at 33-22 with a Hoku Fisher (So., Wilmington, N.C.) jumper. The Yellow Jackets would lead by as many as 12 points in the first half, but MSU Denver would cut the halftime lead to single digits at nine, 39-30.
 
The second half saw the Jackets keep the Roadrunners at arms length most of the first 10 minutes, as MSU Denver never got to within more than seven points in that span. Black Hills State would lead by 12 points, 58-46, at the midway point but a six-point swing for the Roadrunners would cut that lead to just four points with seven and a half minutes to play. Caelin Hearne (Jr., Norman, Okla.) and Fisher would take over, combining to score the next eight Yellow Jacket points to keep the Roadrunners from drawing even.
 
Again, down the stretch, MSUD would pull to within just four points at 71-67 with a minute and a half to play, but a jumper from Ragsdale and Ronnail Tape (Jr., Fort Myers, Fla.) hitting a pair of free throws would stave off the final push from the Roadrunners, as BHSU advances to their fourth-straight RMAC Semifinals with a 75-72 victory in the final game inside A2 Arena this season.

𝙎𝙒𝘼𝙍𝙈 𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙋𝙇𝙀𝙏𝙀 💚💛

Thanks for joining us tonight inside 𝐀𝟐 𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐚, Jacket Nation!#ClimbTheHills pic.twitter.com/rl1YICbKEA

— Black Hills State Athletics (@BHSUAthletics) March 6, 2024

 
GAME NOTES

• Black Hills State shot 54.4% (31-for-57) from the floor to down the Roadrunners for the second time inside A2 Arena this season.
• John Shanklin records three of the team's five blocks in the Quarterfinals victory.
• BH's two leading scorers in Matthew Ragsdale and Caelin Hearne both drop 18 points on the night as the duo combines to shoot 50.0% (15-for-30) from the floor.
• Hoku Fisher also adds 14 points in the effort, shooting 6-for-7 from the floor to go along with a team-best four assists.
• Hearne and Fisher both bring down six rebounds to lead the team in the category.
• BHSU shot 11-for-15 (73.3%) from the free throw line on the night.
• The Jackets improve to 8-5 all-time in the RMAC tournament and 8-4 under head coach Ryan Thompson.
• MSU Denver continues to lead the all-time series, 16-10, but BH won two of the three meetings this season with both wins coming inside A2 Arena.

Up Next: Black Hills State advances to face top-seeded Colorado Mesa (26-3, 21-1 RMAC) Friday night in Grand Junction, Colorado for the Semifinal clash of the RMAC Tournament.