SPEARFISH, S.D. – The No. 17 Black Hills State University men's basketball team overcame a sluggish first half and then shot 75.0 percent from the field in the second half to defeat Dickinson State 81-57 in A2 Arena on Friday night. The Yellow Jackets, who only shot 32.3 percent in the opening half, took just a four point lead into the halftime break, but outscored the Blue Hawks 55-35 in the second frame to earn their sixth win of 20 or more points this season. BHSU also utilized a season-best 48 points in the paint, as the Green & Gold took advantage of shots at the rim compared to just 4-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. With three scorers in double figures, sophomore Jack Haggett led the way with a career-high 19 points in the victory.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: No. 17 Black Hills State 81, Dickinson State 57
Team Records: No. 17 Black Hills State 10-1 (4-0 RMAC), Dickinson State 5-8 (3-4 Frontier)
Attendance: 582
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Dickinson State jumped out to an early 6-2 advantage as Cordell Stinson knocked down a left-wing mid-range jumper with 16:40 to play in the first half. The four point lead was the largest of the contest for the Blue Hawks.
• Over the next 4:14 of game time, Black Hills State used an 8-2 scoring run to take the lead (10-8) as BJ Woodruff took the ball coast to coast for a right-handed layup with 12:12 to play after securing the defensive board.
• DSU would tie the game two more times in the opening half at ten and 17 a piece. After having the game tied at 17, Black Hills State would score four unanswered points to take the lead for good as Jackson Seale connected on a mid-range jumper from the right side of the court off an assist from Woodruff with 5:57 to play in the opening half and then Joel Speckman went 1-of-2 on a pair of trips to the free throw line to make it a 21-17 contest with 3:38 remaining on the clock. The BHSU lead grew to as many as seven points in the first half as Jaeton Hackley hit a left-corner 3-pointer off an assist from Jack Haggett and then the next possession he picked the pocket of Weston Zacher for a steal and took the ball to the rim for a right-handed layup to make it 26-19 with 1:29 to play till the break.
• Dickinson State's Jake Daniel capped the scoring the first half by going 3-of-3 from the charity stipe with 1:16 remaining in the half after being fouled on a right-wing 3-point attempt to make it 26-22 at the break.
• The Blue Hawks got to within two points (26-24) as Stinson made a driving layup with 19:47 to play on their opening possession of the second half, but that would be the closest they would get the remainder of the night.
• With seven unanswered points and an 11-1 scoring run, the Yellow Jackets pushed their lead to double digits for the first time as Cam Lowe grabbed a defensive rebound and took the ball down the court for a quick floater in the paint to make it a 37-25 game with 16:07 to play in the game.
• After seeing the lead stay within 10-16 points the next seven minutes, the Yellow Jackets then landed the final punch to push the game out of reach the final 8:25 of game time. Beginning with a turnaround jumper in the paint by Seale with 8:25 to play to make it 55-40, the Green & Gold ended the game by making 13-of-15 field goal attempts.
• Back-to-back baskets by Haggett, an alley-oop 2-handed dunk off an assist from Woodruff and then a fastbreak right-handed layup, pushed the lead to 63-42 with 6:57 on the clock and capped a run of eight straight points for BHSU.
• The Blue Hawks trimmed the lead under 20 points momentarily, but the Green & Gold closed the game on a 9-4 scoring run as Woodruff scored five points on a free throw line jumper and a left-wing 3-pointer and Speckman added a left-handed layup and then thew down a right-handed dunk off a behind the back pass from Benson Kieffer to end the scoring at 81-57 after a Johnnie Reed steal.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Jack Haggett: 19 points, 8-of-12 field goals, 3-of-4 free throws, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Jaeton Hackley: 18 points, 7-of-12 field goals, 1-of-2 3-pointers, 3-of-4 free throws, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Cam Lowe: 15 points, 7-of-12 field goals, 1-of-1 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
BJ Woodruff: 9 points, 4-of-5 field goals, 1-of-1 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks
Jackson Seale: 9 points, 4-of-8 field goals, 1-of-4 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 1 assist
 
UP NEXT
No. 17 Black Hills State will play their final non-conference game of the season and begins the 2026 calendar year with a Thursday, January 1, trip to Aberdeen, South Dakota, to face Northern State in a 12 p.m. MT / 1 p.m. CT tip-off inside Wachs Arena.
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