SPEARFISH, S.D. – Following a stretch in which the Black Hills State University men's basketball team lost three of four games, the Yellow Jackets have bounced back and now won three of their last four games with a 75-70 win over CSU Pueblo. As the ThunderWolves dropped their first game of the season when leading at the break after having previously been 9-0, the Green & Gold did not take their first lead of the match-up until the 17:26 mark of the second half on a Caelin Hearne driving layup, and after a back-and-forth battle late in the second half a 15-2 scoring run gave them their largest lead of the game at seven points (66-59) with just under five minutes remaining. It was a trio that spearheaded the effort for Black Hills State on Thursday night in A2 Arena, which saw Jaeton Hackley score a career-high 22 points, Cam Lowe score 19 points for his tenth double digit game in the last 12 outings, and then Tristan Hurdle added 17 points on five made 3-pointers for his fourth game of the year with five or more from distance.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 75, CSU Pueblo 70
Team Records: Black Hills State 12-9 (8-5 RMAC), CSU Pueblo 10-11 (5-8 RMAC)
Attendance: 1,244
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• CSU Pueblo got off to a quick start after winning the tip as Denim Johnson connected on a left-wing 3-pointer just 12 seconds into the contest. The basket from beyond the arc sparked five unanswered points as an and-one basket by Armon Muldrew gave the ThunderWolves a 5-0 lead with 19:13 to play in the first half. Jaeton Hackley eventually put Black Hills State on the board with a step through left-handed layup with 18:36 showing on the clock. The redshirt sophomore guard was the only Yellow Jacket to make a field goal in the first four minutes of action as CSUP held an early 10-5 advantage at the under-16 media timeout.
• Sparking a response for BHSU was a right-corner mid-range jumper by Cam Lowe and a right-wing 3-pointer by Tristan Hurdle on the first two possessions following the timeout to cut the deficit to 12-10 with 14:41 remaining in the opening half. CSUP answered with a mini 5-0 run of their own, but once again it was Hurdle from distance, this time from the left-wing and drawing the foul as the Jackets trailed 17-13 with 12:41 to play. The hot shooting from beyond the arc continued as Hackley hit a top of the key 3-pointer, making BHSU three of the first three from 3-point range at the under-12 media timeout despite trailing 21-18 with 11:12 to play.
• After getting within a single point on two occasions with a Blake Volmer layup (21-20) and a turnaround jumper at the right-elbow by Caelin Hearne (23-22), CSU Pueblo's Jordan Blair connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the ThunderWolves lead to five points once again at 29-24 with 7:32 left on the first half clock. Following the under-8 media timeout, however, the Yellow Jackets remained within striking distance as Lowe connected on a 3-pointer from the left-corner and Jack Haggett capitalized on a second chance opportunity created by an offensive rebound by Lowe, sending home a thunderous right-handed dunk to make it a 31-29 game with 5:57 remaining.
• The ThunderWolves briefly stretched the lead back to six points (35-29) as De'Shaun Cooper scored his 1,000^th career point for CSUP with a lay in off the right block. The tandem of Hackley and Lowe continued to keep the game close as they combined for BHSU's final eight points of the half, including a right-handed floater by Hackley through contact in the paint to bring the deficit back to one point (38-37) with 2:12 remaining. Johnson would close the scoring in the opening half as he gave CSU Pueblo the 40-37 advantage at the break with a tip-in with just 46 ticks of the clock left.
• Hackley continued the momentum into the second half as Lowe found him in transition in the left-corner to even the game at 40 apiece just over a minute in. Then a few possessions later a left-handed layup off the drive by Hearne gave the Green & Gold their first lead of the game at 42-41 with 17:26 to play in the game. After CSU Pueblo briefly regained the lead by a single point on a driving layup by Muldrew, Hurdle answered with a left-wing 3-pointer to make it a 16-8 scoring run over an eight minute stretch back to the first half, giving them a 45-43 edge entering the under-16 media timeout.
• After the timeout the ThunderWolves went on to score six unanswered points, regaining the lead and taking a four point advantage (49-45) with 14:58 to play on an alley-oop dunk by Johnson as Muldrew found him running the left side of the court in transition. Snapping the scoreless stretch of just over two minutes was once again Hurdle on the left-wing from beyond the arc as Hackley found him on a kick-out pass for his fourth assist to cut the deficit to 49-48 with 14:23 remaining. Despite the 3-pointer, driving layups by Blair and Johnson extended the CSUP scoring run to 10-3 to take a 53-48 edge entering the under-12 timeout with 11:51 left on the clock. The run eventually grew to as many 14-6 for CSU Pueblo when Cooper hammered home a put-back dunk to make it 57-51 with 9:09 to play.
• The momentum began to shift with back-to-back baskets by Lowe and John Shanklin, cutting the deficit to two (57-55) and starting what would become a 15-2 scoring run for the Yellow Jackets over the next four and a half minutes as they went 7-of-8 from the field during the rally. After Hearne evened the game at 59 apiece on a left-handed drive to the rim with just under six minutes left on the clock. The ensuing possession BHSU regained the lead for good as Lowe went coast to coast on a steal that he finished with a 2-handed dunk. The Green & Gold took their largest lead of the game with 4:44 to play at 66-59 as Hackley set a new career-high with 20 points and counting on a fastbreak layup that he finished with the right hand to cap the scoring run.
• The ThunderWolves wouldn't go away quietly as a 3-pointer by Jaden Kennis with 3:48 to play sparked a 9-4 CSUP scoring run to draw them back within two points (70-68) as a pair of free throws by Muldrew capped the rally with 1:40 on the clock. Two points would be all the closer the visitors could get in the closing minutes could get as Lowe iced the game away at the charity stripe, knocking down five free throws in the final minute of action.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Jaeton Hackley: 22 points, 10-of-20 field goals, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
Cam Lowe: 19 points, 6-of-11 field goals, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal
Tristan Hurdle: 17 points, 5-of-7 3-pointers, 7 rebounds
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will round out a stretch of five home games in three weeks as they host UCCS on Saturday, February 8, as they tip-off at 3 p.m. in A2 Arena and look for the season sweep of the Mountain Lions.
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