DENVER, Colo. – Entering the postseason needing just nine points to become the newest member of the 1,000 point club, Caelin Hearne was one of four players to score in double figures for Black Hills State on Tuesday night as the Yellow Jackets downed MSU Denver by a score of 79-69. After the Roadrunners closed the opening half on an 11-2 scoring run to tie the game at the break, BHSU regained control with a 9-0 run of their own and built a lead of as many as 13 points in the second half. Despite a late push by MSUD to claw within three points, it was 13 free throws in the final minutes that iced the game away for BHSU as they knocked down 17-of-22 from the charity stipe in the contest to seal the win.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 79, MSU Denver 69
Team Records: Black Hills State 18-11 (13-7 RMAC), MSU Denver 19-10 (13-7 RMAC)
Attendance: 281
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After an opening basket by Jaeton Hackley from just inside the 3-point arc at the top of the key 20 seconds in, MSU Denver was able to jump out to an early 6-2 advantage with baskets on each of their first three possessions. Black Hills State, however, remained unphased by their nearly four minute scoring drought as back-to-back jumpers by Hackley and Caelin Hearne evened the game at six apiece with 15:13 to play in the first half.
• While holding the Roadrunners scoreless for more than four and a half minutes, the Yellow Jackets regained the lead and added to their scoring run as a tip-in layup by Joel Speckman capped a 10-2 rally to give BHSU a 12-8 edge with 12:07 to play in the opening half.
• MSUD clawed back within two points on a pair of occasions midway through the first half, but the Green & Gold had another answer as they opened up an eight point lead (20-12) with 10:18 on the clock as Hackley and Hearne connected on back-to-back 3-pointers from the top of the key and the left-corner respectively. Over the course of the next few minutes, Black Hills State held their largest lead of the first half of nine points on a pair of occasions as Hearne hit his second shot from beyond the arc with a right-wing pull up to go ahead 23-14 and then Hackley laid in an underhand right-handed layup off the dribble drive to take a 25-16 lead and force a Roadrunner timeout with 7:06 to play till the break.
• The Yellow Jackets were only able to manage one basket in the final seven minutes of the first half as MSU Denver rallied together an 11-2 scoring run to make it a 27-27 ball game at the halftime break following a left-handed layup by Brayden Carter off an assist from Caleb McGill with 1:43 to play.
• Another string of back-to-back 3-pointers to begin the second half lit a spark for Black Hills State as they went on a 9-0 to take a 36-27 advantage just over a minute out of the break. In the midst of the run Cam Lowe found Hearne at the top of the key for his third 3-pointer of the game, allowing him to surpass 1,000 career points in the Green & Gold.
• The run to begin the second half eventually stretched to as much as 15-4 as the lead for the Yellow Jackets grew to double digits for the first time as Hackley found Hurdle on a slip screen from the left-wing and an easy one-dribble reverse layup to make it 42-31 with 13:42 remaining in the game. Nearly a minute and a half later it was Hurdle again who scored his eighth consecutive point for BHSU, knocking down a top of the key 3-pointer off a pass from Hackley, giving Black Hills State their largest lead of the game at 13 points (48-35) with 12:21 on the clock.
• MSU Denver made their first push in getting back into the contest with an 8-0 run capped by a strong left-handed layup through contact by Carter to cut the BHSU lead to just five (48-43) with 9:56 to play. While the Roadrunners were able to claw back, the Yellow Jackets had another answer and pushed the lead back to double digits as a 10-4 run was capped by a left-wing 3-pointer by Lowe off the assist from Hackley to stretch the lead to 58-47 as 7:21 showed on the clock.
• Playing on their home court, the Roadrunners made one final push to keep their season alive, stringing together a 13-5 run to cut the Yellow Jacket lead down to just three points (63-60) on a pair of free throws by Quave Propst-Allison with 2:17 to play.
• The three points would be all the closer MSUD would get as BHSU ended the game by outscoring the Roadrunners 16-6 in the final 2:02 of the game, which included 13-of-14 shooting from the charity stripe. Among the 13 made free throws in the closing minutes, Lowe went 6-of-6, Hurdle was 4-of-4, Hackley was 2-of-2, and Speckman was 1-of-2

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Cam Lowe: 22 points, 9-of-9 free throws, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist
Jaeton Hackley: 16 points, 2-of-4 3-pointers, 5 assists, 3 rebounds
Tristan Hurdle: 15 points, 2-of-3 3-pointers, 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 steal
Caelin Hearne: 13 points, 3-of-7 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State punched their ticket to their fifth consecutive and sixth overall appearance in the RMAC Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinals as they face No. 9/9 Colorado School of Mines who escaped an upset bid on Tuesday night. The Yellow Jackets and Orediggers will be the second semifinal game of the night on Friday, March 7, as they are set to tip-off at approximately 7 p.m. in Lockridge Arena in Golden, Colorado.
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