DENVER, Colo. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team leaves the Auraria Event Center on Monday afternoon with their second 32-point win in as many days as they defeated Texas A&M International 89-57. The Yellow Jacket offense continued its efficient start to the season, once again shooting better than 50 percent and connecting on 13 3-pointers at a 40.6 percent clip as all 11 players who saw action found the scoring column. Additionally, the defense stifled the Dustdevils, who entered the game fresh off a 107-point performance in which they shot 61.5 percent, and held them to just 57 points on 38.2 percent shooting in the contest. The Green & Gold improve to 13-1 against the Lone Star Conference in their last 14 games against the league.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 89, Texas A&M International 57
Team Records: Black Hills State 2-0 (0-0 RMAC), Texas A&M International 1-1 (0-0 Lone Star)
Attendance: 110
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• With a 3-pointer by Jamyier Patton from the right-wing just 15 seconds after winning the opening tip, Texas A&M International would score the first points and take an early 4-2 advantage. Black Hills State, however, would use a 15-5 run that was fueled by a trio of 3-pointers to answer and take a seven point lead (15-8) with 13:44 to play in the opening half after Tristan Hurdle's first triple of the year from the top of the key off an assist by BJ Woodruff.
• The seven point lead for the Yellow Jackets was short lived as Patton and Spivey Word connected on back-to-back 3-pointers for TAMIU and a driving right-handed layup by Word capped an 8-0 run to give the Dustdevils their final lead of the contest at 16-15 with 11:16 to play in the first half.
• Willie Patterson III took in a pass from Hurdle and made a move to the basket for a right-handed driving layup the ensuing possession, giving the Yellow Jackets the lead for good and sparking a commanding 23-5 run over the next eight and a half minutes that was capped by a pair of Blake Volmer free throws with 2:39 on the clock to make it 38-20. After five straight points by Texas A&M International, Black Hills State answered with the final five points of the half with another Hurdle trey, this time from the right-wing, and then Cam Lowe pushed the advantage back to 18 points 43-25 with a driving right-handed layup down the lane as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
• Jackson Seale began the scoring in the second half as Jack Haggett found him on a cut to the rim for the lay in to make it a 20 point advantage (45-25) with 19:30 to play in the game. The margin stood at 15-20 points the next five minutes as the teams battled back-and-forth before eventually the Dustdevils trimmed it to 13 points (52-39) with a layup by Gaius M'Ella, but that would be as close as the opponents would get.
• The third 3-pointer of the game by Hurdle off an assist from Seale with 13:33 sparked 14 unanswered points as Hurdle again eventually hit from deep from the right corner as Volmer found him with a cross court pass to make it 66-39 with 10:39 remaining in the contest. The scoring run would grow to as big as 22-4 with a fastbreak dunk by Myles Johnson off a quick dump off pass in transition from Patterson extended the lead to 31 points (74-43) as 6:26 showed on the clock.
• Following a few late back-and-forth possessions, a 10-2 scoring run saw the Yellow Jackets take their largest lead of the contest at 37 points (89-52) with a top of the key 3-pointer by Johnnie Reed off an assist by Woodruff with just 1:40 left to play. The Dustdevils scored the final five points of the match-up with a step-through jumper in the pant by Peyton Gusters and an old-fashioned 3-point play by M'Ella in the final minute and a half to bring the final score to 89-57.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Myles Johnson: 13 points, 6-8 field goals, 1-2 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist, 1 block
Jackson Seale: 12 points, 5-10 field goals, 2-7 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks
Tristan Hurdle: 12 points, 4-6 field goals, 4-4 3-pointers, 1 rebound
Blake Volmer: 10 points, 3-3 field goals, 2-2 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State remains on the road this upcoming weekend as they are set to take part in the annual East/West Challenge, this year taking place in Moorhead, Minnesota. The Yellow Jackets first game will be on Friday, November 21, as they take on the hosts of (RV) MSU Moorhead at 6:30 p.m. MT / 7:30 p.m. CT in the Nemzek Fieldhouse.
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