SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team looked to be well in control early in the second half, leading by as many as 15 points in the contest, however Colorado Mesa stormed back to defeat the Yellow Jackets 79-77 in A2 Arena on Saturday night. The Green & Gold, who suffered their first overtime loss since January 4, 2021, in a home match-up against No. 4 Colorado School of Mines, snapping a 5-game win streak in extra period games. BHSU shot a red-hot 68.0 percent from the field and 63.6 percent from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes of action against the Mavericks, which included 21 of 43 points scored from the bench, however, CMU overcame the early second half deficit of 15 points by out-scoring BHSU 37-22 to force OT and then proceeded to hold a 6-4 edge in the five minutes of free basketball.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 77, Colorado Mesa 79 (Overtime)
Team Records: Black Hills State 9-8 (5-4 RMAC), Colorado Mesa 11-6 (5-4 RMAC)
Attendance: 2,146
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Colorado Mesa scored the first points of the game with a turnaround jumper in the paint by Will Mortimore on their first possession after winning the tip and proceeded to extend their early lead to 6-2. Black Hills State eventually connected on their first field goal of the game with a left-wing 3-pointer by Cam Lowe with 17:04 to play in the first half and then it wasn't until nearly when two and half minutes later that Tristan Hurdle hit from the same exact spot to give BHSU their first lead of the game (8-6) with 14:46 on the clock. It was an 8-0 answer for the Green & Gold that was capped by a left-handed driving layup by Lowe to make it a 10-6 contest early on.
• BHSU began to open up the lead, gaining an eight point advantage (21-13) as Caelin Hearne connected on a right-corner 3-pointer on a Hurdle assist. With the assist Hurdle was responsible for 14 of Black Hills State's first 21 points in the game.
• A tough driving layup by Mason Honeyman capped a 10-2 scoring run for CMU as they evened the game at 23 apiece with 7:38 to play, however, a pull-up jumper by Blake Volmer gave BHSU the lead back at 25-23 with 7:14 left on the clock in the first half. Then following a 25-25 tie, a Joel Speckman 2-handed dunk gave the Yellow Jackets some energy once again as they broke the Colorado Mesa press, igniting a quick 7-0 run to push the lead back to 32-25 after a left-corner 3-pointer by Volmer with 5:48 remaining. The run grew to 11-2 as Lowe's reverse layup off a pass inside by Hearne with 3:13 to play gave the Green & Gold their largest lead of the half at 36-27.
• The Mavericks cut into the lead in the closing minutes of the first half as they got the margin down to four points (38-34) on a pair of Jaylen Pitman free throws with 1:12 on the clock. In response the Yellow Jackets then momentarily pushed their lead back to nine points as Hurdle cashed in on his fourth 3-pointer and 16^th point of the half as he connected from the top of the key with 29 seconds remaining. CMU, however, added a pull-up jumper in the paint to make it a 43-36 game at the break.
• A quick four points for Black Hills State out of the break included a driving left-handed layup by Lowe and then a steal and layup for Jaeton Hackley, forcing a Colorado Mesa timeout with 18:48 to play as the Yellow Jacket lead grew to double digits 47-36. BHSU increased their lead to as many as 15 points (51-36) as Speckman capitalized on a pair of free throws after being fouled on a layup attempt and giving the Green & Gold the first eight points of the second half nearly three minutes in.
• The Mavs didn't score their first points of the second half until Yaak Yaak scored on a left-handed layup with 16:45 on the clock, giving CMU some momentum to spark a rally. Colorado Mesa first cut the BHSU lead back down to single digits (51-42) with 14:14 remaining as Austin Thyne made a driving layup from the left-wing off the dish from Ty Allred. The Mavericks run pushed to a 9-0 scoring run as they then cut margin to six points (51-45) with a top of the key shot from beyond the arc by Thyne off an assist Christopher Speller with 13:29 to play. The Yellow Jackets, however, had an immediate answer the ensuing possession as Lowe knocked down a right-wing 3-pointer off a screen by Hurdle to push the advantage back to nine (54-45).
• CMU made another push as an 8-2 scoring run trimmed the Yellow Jacket lead to just three points (56-53) after a driving layup by Harvey White, prior entering a timeout with 10:03 left on the clock. Out of the timeout, the Green & Gold had another response as John Shanklin sent down a 2-handed dunk off the left-block off a pass from BJ Woodruff to give some momentum back to the home team. The Yellow Jackets began to create some separation with just over six minutes to play in regulation as Lowe hit a left-wing 3-pointer off an assist from Hearne and then two possessions later Hearne knocked down a left-wing 3-pointer off a kickout pass from Jack Haggett with 5:21 to play, giving BHSU a seven point lead (70-63) for their largest advantage since 11:53 was on the clock in the second half.
• After more than three minutes of scoreless basketball, the Mavericks made one last charge, ending regulation on a 10-3 run to send the contest into overtime in a 73 all tie following Allred's 3-of-3 trip to the charity stripe with eight seconds to play after being fouled on a shot beyond the arc.
• Colorado Mesa secured their first lead since just under 15 minutes remained in the first half at 6-5 when Yaak knocked down a midrange jumper from the right side of the court with 4:13 left in the extra period. A minute later Allred backed down his defender on the left-block and put in a layup to extend their scoring run to 14-3 to take a 77-73 advantage with 3:30 on the clock.
• The Yellow Jackets kept their composure, however, as Hearne made a turnaround jumper off the left block and Lowe added a driving layup the ensuing possession to even the game at 77 apiece and force a Mavs timeout with 1:56 remaining in the overtime.
• CMU regained the lead at 79-77 with 1:05 to play as Allred found Mortimore between a pair of defenders for a right-handed layup. BHSU had one final attempt to tie the game after getting a stop with 13 seconds to play and Lowe securing his seventh rebound of the game. Lowe proceeded to take the ball the length of the court, but saw his contested layup attempt fall short at the buzzer as the Mavericks held on for the road victory.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Cam Lowe: 25 points, 11-of-18 field goals, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Tristan Hurdle: 18 points, 4-of-6 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Caelin Hearne: 13 points, 3-of-8 3-pointers, 3 assists, 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 steal
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State remains at home on Saturday, January 25, for another RMAC clash as the Yellow Jackets host Western Colorado for a 3 p.m. tip-off inside A2 Arena.
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