BISMARCK, N.D. – The No. 23 Black Hills State University men's basketball team secured their second win in as many days at the Dakota Challenge, taking down the hosts of UMary by a score of 85-74 on Saturday in the McDowell Activity Center. Never trailing in the contest, the Yellow Jackets jumped out to an early 12-2 advantage and would shoot a red-hot 64.5 percent from the field in the opening frame. They ended the match-up with a 52.3 percent shooting clip, the fourth game in which they shot 50.0 percent or better from the field, and connected on 11 triples, their most since back-to-back double digit 3-point performances during the season's opening weekend. Led by
Jaeton Hackley and
Jack Haggett with seven assists a piece, the Green & Gold assisted on 27 of 34 made baskets in the game.
QUICK DETAILS
Score: No. 23 Black Hills State 85, UMary 74
Team Records: No. 23 Black Hills State 5-1 (0-0 RMAC), UMary 2-4 (1-0 NSIC)
Attendance: 251
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A jumper in the paint just 12 seconds into the contest by Jackson Seale gave Black Hills State the first points of the game, and despite a 2-2 tie moments later, the Yellow Jackets would never trail as they began the game on a 12-2 scoring run. The Green & Gold saw their lead reach double digits just over four minutes into the game as Tristan Hurdle connected from the right-corner off a kick out pass from Willie Patterson III to make it 12-2. BHSU knocked down five of their first seven shot attempts during the run to open the game.
- UMary responded to the Yellow Jacket run with an 8-2 answer, which included 3-pointers by both Cayden Redfield and Amare Jackson, to pull back within four points at 14-10 with 13:37 to play in the first half.
- Back-to-back 3-pointers by Hurdle and Seale, guided a 10-2 scoring run for Black Hills State, as the Yellow Jackets snagged their largest lead of the opening half (24-12) with a 2-handed dunk by Jack Haggett off the dish from Cam Lowe with 10:37 to play.
- The Marauders trimmed the Yellow Jacket lead down to six points on a pair of occasions the final ten minutes of action in the first half, first with a right-wing 3-pointer by Noah Thomas with 5:45 on the clock and then on a layup by Kelton Coleman with 3:30 remaining. BHSU was able to enter the locker room with a ten point advantage as Hurdle connected on his fourth 3-pointer of the half in the closing seconds, hitting a shot from the left-corner off an assist from Jaeton Hackley to go up 47-37.
- The Black Hills State lead grew back to 12 points (51-39) a minute and a half into the second half as Seale hit back-to-back free throw line jumpers off assists from Myles Johnson. UMary, however, would answer with a 16-6 run over the next five minutes as they would claw back to within just two points with a right-corner 3-pointer by Tshawn Bois to make it 57-55 with 13:45 to play in the game. Johnson would end the scoring run as he took the ball to the rim for a layup with under 13 minutes to play off a defensive rebound and quick pass off by Hackley.
- A 9-3 scoring run by the Green & Gold pushed the advantage back to double digits as a fastbreak layup by Lowe off a blocked shot by Johnson made it a 76-66 contest with 6:40 remaining on the clock. A few minutes later with a right-wing 3-pointer off a kick out pass by Haggett, Lowe would give the Yellow Jackets their largest lead of the match-up (83-70) with 2:02 to play. Lowe then secured his second 20-point game of the year as he cashed in on a pair of free throws in the final minute to bring the final score to 85-74.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Cam Lowe: 21 points, 8-of-15 field goals, 3-of-6 3-pointers, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block
Jackson Seale: 15 points, 6-of-10 field goals, 2-of-4 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 1 steal
Willie Patterson III: 13 points, 5-of-10 field goals, 3 rebounds, 4 assists
Tristan Hurdle: 12 points, 4-of-9 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Myles Johnson: 8 points, 4-of-5 field goals, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 3 blocks
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will begin RMAC action on Tuesday, December 2, as they make the trip down I-90 to Rapid City, South Dakota, to face rivals South Dakota Mines at 7:30 p.m. in the King Center.
