SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team now stands alone in third place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings after a strong performance in their first game of the New Year as they defeated Regis 90-73 in A2 Arena on Thursday night. A key to their current 4-game win streak, the Yellow Jackets found success from beyond the arc, knocking down 14 3-pointers in the contest as they reached double figures from beyond the arc for the eighth time this year. Leading the charge for BHSU from deep was sharpshooter Tristan Hurdle who connected on a career-high eight 3-pointers and a career-high 27 points.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 90, Regis 73
Team Records: Black Hills State 8-5 (4-1 RMAC), Regis 5-8 (3-2 RMAC)
Attendance: 1,172
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• A quick right-corner 3-pointer by Eddy Egun just ten seconds into the game and a left-handed pull up from the left-elbow by Kobe Sanders helped Regis jump out to a 5-2 advantage 1:15 into the match-up. Black Hills State, however, got rolling with a left-handed driving layup by Caelin Hearne off a pass up the court by Jaeton Hackley, the play sparked a 16-1 scoring run which saw a pair of 3-pointers by Tristan Hurdle and one shot from beyond the arc by BJ Woodruff. Capping the run was a right-handed layup off a hesitation move by Hackley to make it 18-6 with 14:00 left in the first half.
• The Rangers responded to the 12 point deficit by stringing together 11 unanswered points as Jalen Page brought RU within one point (18-17) with 11:13 left on the clock in the first half as he was the beneficiary of a defensive goaltending call on a layup attempt off the right-block. Ending the run by the visitors was Hurdle who knocked down his third 3-pointer from the top of the key as he also drew the foul and converted a 4-point play with 10:59 to play till the break. A possession later he then knocked down his fourth of the game on a contested shot at the top of the key off an assist from Deegan Williams to stretch the lead to six points (25-19).
• Regis drew within a single point following a steal and dunk by Chase Mayo Harmon with 5:02 left in the first half, but they could never tie or take the lead as BHSU stretched the lead back to as many as six points (40-34) in the closing minutes as Cam Lowe hit a right-handed floater off the glass and in from off the right-block as 3:39 remained. A right-handed layup by John Shankli off a wraparound pass down low gave the Yellow Jackets a 44-39 advantage entering the halftime break.
• The second half began with Shanklin scoring seven consecutive points as he pushed the lead back to double digits (51-41) as he converted an and-one opportunity after finishing an alley-oop pass by Lowe through contact with 18:32 remaining in the game.
• Just like in the first half of action, it was a 4-point play to get the momentum going for the Yellow Jackets as this time Hackley knocked down the triple from the left-wing and then added the free throw with 15:19 to play in the game. The run sparked an 11-2 scoring run that ended with Lowe hitting a fade away mid-range jumper off a pass from Joel Speckman to extend the lead to 65-47 with 12:55 remaining.
• With a shot from deep with 6:28 on the clock, Hurdle knocked down his seventh 3-pointer of the game, setting a new career-high mark in the category as he made it a 75-59 contest as Lowe found him open at the top of the key. A few minutes later he gave BHSU a 20 point advantage (81-61) as he connected on his eighth triple of the night, setting a new career-high in points with 27, as Hearne found him on the right wing while cutting through the baseline with 4:33 left in the match-up.
• Black Hills State posted their largest lead of the game at 21 points (90-69) with just 45 seconds to play as Speckman collected an offensive rebound and went back up and in for his second basket of the night. Regis ended the scoring in the game with back-to-back baskets by Jalen Brown as he brought the final to 90-73.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Tristan Hurdle: 27 points, 8-of-12 3-pointers, 1 steal
Cam Lowe: 16 points, 7-of-13 field goals, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Jaeton Hackley: 14 points, 6-of-7 field goals, 4 assists, 2 steals
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State remains at home on Saturday, January 11, as they are set to host No. 22/RV MSU Denver in a 3 p.m. match-up in A2 Arena.
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