SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's basketball team bounced back from their first RMAC defeat of the year last weekend and withstood a physical test from New Mexico Highlands for a 79-74 victory in A2 Arena on Thursday night. The Yellow Jackets overcame 19 turnovers and a 27-10 points off turnovers advantage for the Cowboys by shooting a nearly perfect 19-of-20 from the charity stripe in the contest, marking the highest shooting clip on 20 or more attempts from the free throw line this season as they were 95.0 percent in the game. The Green & Gold were led by four players in double figures, including a team-leading 18 points from Tristan Hurdle and a double-double from Cam Lowe with 12 points and a season-high 11 rebounds.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: No. 15 Black Hills State 79, New Mexico Highlands 74
Team Records: No. 15 Black Hills State 13-2 (6-1 RMAC), New Mexico Highlands 5-13 (3-4 RMAC)
Attendance: 1,303
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After nearly two minutes of scoreless action to begin the contest, New Mexico Highlands began the scoring with a driving right-handed layup by Ramiah Adedigba off an assist by Dontae Walker for a 2-0 Cowboy lead with 18:08 to play. That 2-0 advantage would be the lone lead of the contest for NMHU as minutes later, Jackson Seale put the Yellow Jackets on the board with a right-wing 3-pointer off a pass from Jaeton Hackley, putting the Green & Gold in front 3-2 with 16:53 to play and from that point on. The triple from Seale sparked a 13-0 scoring run that included three baskets from beyond the arc, including a left-corner triple from Blake Volmer off an assist from BJ Woodruff to push the lead to 11 points (13-2) with 13:09 left in the first half.
• The double digit lead grew to as many as 15 points in the opening half (25-10), the largest lead of the game, as Tristan Hurdle got a driving right-handed layup to fall with 8:40 to play till the break. The lead remained double figures for BHSU until a 10-4 run for New Mexico Highlands saw the Cowboys claw back to within seven points (31-24) with 1:11 left on the clock as Ibrahima Sacko beat the defense back and took the ball to the rim for a layup. The Yellow Jackets, however, utilized a steal by Hackley and pushed the lead to nine points (33-24) as he got the ball back with a full head of steam from the top of the key on a pass from Seale and took the ball to the rim for a layup with just five seconds remaining.
• The second half began with Seale picking up the ball following a scramble on the floor for a loose ball and finding Myles Johnson open on the left-block for a 2-handed dunk to push the lead to 35-24 just 24 seconds into the second half.
• The Cowboys momentarily cut the lead down to seven points on a pair of occasions in the early minutes of the second half, however, a 9-2 scoring run sparked by a left-wing 3-pointer by Hurdle off a kick-out pass from Cam Lowe with 15:44 remaining in the game quickly pushed the lead back to double digits once again. The scoring run was capped by Lowe going 4-of-4 on a trip to the charity stripe with 14:22 to play as NMHU picked up a pair of technical fouls.
• New Mexico Highlands would not go down without a fight in the contest, battling back to within four points (57-53) with 9:43 to play as Adedigba capped an 11-2 scoring run with a steal and dunk after three consecutive made 3-pointers. Black Hills State briefly stalled the momentum for the Cowboys with back-to-back 3-pointers of their own as Hurdle sank a transition shot from beyond the arc on the right-wing off an assist from Hackley and then the ensuing possession Lowe was the recipient of an assist from Hurdle as he connected on a left-wing triple to make it a 63-53 game with 8:34 to play.
• A 9-3 scoring run for NMHU again cut the BHSU lead back to four points as the Cowboys ended the run by answering a left-corner 3-pointer from Hackley with a top of the key 3-pointer from Marcus Pierce off an assist from Walker to make it a 66-62 game with just 5:28 remaining on the clock.
• The Yellow Jackets then created enough separation to hold off the Cowboys down the stretch, putting together an 8-0 scoring run as four points from both Hackley and Johnson pushed the lead to 12 points (74-62) with just 3:38 left on the clock. Johnson capped the scoring run with a lay in at the rim off a dump off pass from Hackley.
• With the margin at ten points as the clock ticked under a minute to play, New Mexico Highlands made one final push with an 8-1 scoring run, that saw BJ Comer knock down a left-wing 3-pointer with just 2.7 seconds remaining off an offensive rebound and assist from Adedigba to make it a 77-74 game. Black Hills State secured the victory with a pair of free throws by Johnson with 1.8 seconds to play to make the final score 79-74.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Tristan Hurdle: 18 points, 5-of-8 field goals, 3-of-5 3-pointers, 5-of-5 free throws, 1 assist
Myles Johnson: 17 points, 6-of-10 field goals, 5-of-5 free throws, 5 rebounds, 1 assist
Jaeton Hackley: 15 points, 5-of-8 field goals, 1-of-2 3-pointers, 4-of-4 free throws, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
Cam Lowe: 12 points, 3-of-9 field goals, 2-of-6 3-pointers, 4-of-4 free throws, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
 
UP NEXT
No. 15 Black Hills State is set for a battle for the RMAC lead on Saturday, January 17, as they host Fort Lewis at 3 p.m. in A2 Arena. The heavyweight match-up between the Yellow Jackets and Skyhawks can be streamed live on the RMAC Network, however, the men's game will not be broadcast on linear tv due to prior schedule arrangements on KNBN-2 and KSFL.
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