SPEARFISH, S.D. – Similar to the first meeting between the pair of teams, the Black Hills State University men's basketball team overcame a double digit deficit to defeat UCCS by a score of 75-66 on Saturday afternoon in A2 Arena to secure the season sweep. The Yellow Jackets responded to an 18-2 UCCS run that pushed their lead to 13 points with a 16-2 rally of their own to regain the lead with just under 11 minutes to play. The story of the game, however, wouldn't be the pair of scoring runs, it would be the lock down second half defense continued to be put on by the Green & Gold in now each of their last four home victories as they held the Mountain Lions to just 5-of-31 (16.1%) from the field and 1-of-10 (10.0%) from 3-point range in the second half. Even after UCCS made three of their first five shot attempts out of the halftime break, BHSU held them to just 2-of-26 in the final 17:10 and forced them to miss their final 12 shots over the last eight minutes of action.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 75, UCCS 66
Team Records: Black Hills State 13-9 (9-5 RMAC), UCCS 14-8 (8-6 RMAC)
Attendance: 1,031
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After a quick 4-0 start to the game for Black Hills State with baskets by Cam Lowe on a mid-range jumper on the left side of the court and a layup by John Shanklin from the left-block on assists by Jaeton Hackley and BJ Woodruff respectively, UCCS responded with an 11-2 scoring run to take an 11-6 lead into the first media timeout with 15:24 to play.
• The Yellow Jackets evened the score at 13 apiece with a top of the key 3-pointer by Tristan Hurdle as Lowe found him from the right wing as the ball movement flowed from side-to-side the entire possession, however the Mountain Lions kept the Green & Gold at bay with seven unanswered as Xavier Martinez connected on a left-wing shot from beyond the arc as he stepped behind a screen to make it 20-13 with 12:45 remaining on the clock. Hurdle, however, once again got BHSU back on track with a left-wing 3-pointer off a pass from Jack Haggett, and the Yellow Jackets answered with a 7-0 run of their own as Haggett evened the score once again at 20 apiece with 10:50 to go as Hackley found him on the right block.
• Despite the pair of ties Black Hills State could not get in front until a few minutes later as Caelin Hearne added back-to-back baskets as he took advantage of a block by Shanklin and a steal by Woodruff to take a 26-25 edge with 8:14 to play in the opening half. BHSU only held the lead for a matter of 14 seconds before UCCS gained the upper hand with a pair of free throws by Hannes Saar to make it a 27-26 game. It wouldn't be until the 2:22 mark of the first half when again just momentarily the Yellow Jackets moved ahead in the contest as Hurdle hit his fourth 3-pointer of the first half as Hackley found him on a kick-out pass to the left wing with just under three minutes to play till the break. After taking the three point lead (36-33), the Mountain Lions would end the first half on a 9-2 scoring run and was capped by a step back 3-pointer on the right-wing by Martinez to beat the buzzer and give UCCS the 42-38 lead.
• The UCCS scoring run continued to grow in the opening minutes of the second half as 3-of-5 shooting from the field in the opening two and a half minutes allowed it to stretch to an 18-2 rally with a 2-handed dunk by William Becker from the right-block off the dish from Jezza McKenzie, making it a 51-38 game and the largest lead of the contest.
• After falling behind by double digits, Black Hills State had another response in the back-and-forth battle as a 16-2 scoring run over the next six minutes allowed them to regain the lead once again after Hearne took the ball to the rim with the left hand after receiving the pass at the left-elbow from Lowe to make it a 54-53 advantage with just under 11 minutes to play. UCCS momentarily regained their composure as a right-baseline jumper from just inside the arc by McKenzie off the Derik Pranger in-bounds pass made it a 55-54 game with 9:44 to play, however for the Mountain Lions that would be their final made field goal of the match-up as they closed the game by missing their final 12 shots from the field.
• Following more back-and-forth basketball, the Yellow Jackets finally took the lead for good with 6:24 remaining in the contest as Hearne hit a mid-range jumper on the left side of the court to put BHSU in front 61-60. The Green & Gold closed the game on a 16-5 scoring run to secure the win as Blake Volmer gave them their largest lead of the afternoon at ten points (75-65) with a pair of free throws with 14 seconds remaining before Martinez went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe with eight seconds left to end the scoring for both teams. 

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Caelin Hearne: 17 points, 7-of-13 field goals, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Tristan Hurdle: 17 points, 5-of-9 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks
Cam Lowe: 10 points, 5-of-10 field goals, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, 1 steal
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will face their third ranked opponent of the season in their next match-up as they take to the road to visit No. 10/9 Colorado School of Mines in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off in Lockridge Arena in Golden, Colorado.
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