Snapping an 11-game losing streak in the series and picking up their first win over Northern State since 1978, and their first win in Aberdeen since 1968, the No. 15 Black Hills State University men’s basketball team rang in the new year with a 77-70 victory over the Wolves in Wachs Arena. Securing the 150th win of head coach Ryan Thompson‘s coaching tenure, the Yellow Jackets turned the tide on a series that was dominated by their east river foes, fending off a hungry NSU squad that tied the game at 59 apiece with just over 12 minutes to play and held the home team scoreless for more than six minutes as they out-scored them 20-13 down the stretch. Three in the Green & Gold scored in double figures in the final non-conference match-up of the season, led by Jaeton Hackley who poured in 22 points for his second 20-point game of the year.
QUICK DETAILS
Score: No. 15 Black Hills State 77, Northern State 70
Team Records: No. 15 Black Hills State 11-1 (4-0 RMAC), Northern State 4-9 (4-3 NSIC)
Attendance: 1,555
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A pair of Joshua Brook free throws started the scoring in the game just 16 second into the contest, however Jaeton Hackley would quickly respond with a turnaround jumper in the paint in their first possession to tie the game at two apiece with 19:17 to play. The teams continued to battle back-and-forth early, as the Yellow Jackets made five of their first six shots, one by each starter as a Jackson Seale floater off an assist by Cam Lowe gave BHSU a 10-9 advantage with 15:45 remaining in the opening half.
- After trailing 13-10, the Yellow Jackets utilized a 10-2 scoring run to take a 20-15 lead with 11:49 on the clock as Tristan Hurdle connected on a right-wing 3-pointer off a Hackley assist. The lead continued to grow to double digits for the first time in the contest as Seale connected on a right-wing 3-pointer off Lowe’s third assist of the day with 9:06 on the clock, making it a 27-17 contest with the run extending to 17-4 over nearly six minutes of action.
- The BHSU lead reached as many as 15 points in the opening half, as Seale sank his second triple of the afternoon, this time from the left-wing on another Hackley assist to make it 34-19 with 6:50 left on the clock.
- Northern State responded after trailing by 15 points, clawing back to within four points (36-32) as Marshawn Smith capped a 9-2 scoring run with a turnaround jumper in the paint with 4:00 left in the first half.
- The Green & Gold responded after the Wolves clawed back to within four points, posting a 9-4 run which saw them shoot 4-of-5 as a team, including five points from Hackley as his final basket of the half, a free throw line jumper, put them in front 45-36 with 1:21 to play. Northern, however, scored the final five points as Book assisted on both a James Glenn 3-pointer and a driving layup to make it a 45-41 at the break.
- Seale matched a career-high of three made 3-pointers on the opening basket of the second half, sinking a jumper from the top of the key off an assist from Lowe to make it a 48-41 game just 11 seconds in. Book and Glenn, however, continued to keep the Wolves in the game as the pair made four consecutive shots to keep the margin at four points as BHSU led 53-49 with 17:05 on the clock as Glenn made a driving right-handed layup. Northern eventually went on to even the game at 57 apiece, as Tobi Obiora completed a left-handed layup through contact off an assist from Benjamin Bown with 13:24 to play.
- The Wolves again evened the game at 59 apiece with 12:20 to play as Ty Rogers hit a jumper, that would be the last Northern points in over six minutes of action. During the scoreless stretch, Myles Johnson broke the tie for good with a right-handed layup with 9:24 on the clock. The basket was the first in an 8-0 scoring run, as Blake Volmer grabbed back-to-back defensive rebounds for a new career-high of seven, each leading to layups by Hackley. Volmer then capped the run with his lone basket of the day, finding space under the basket for a layup to make it a 67-59 game with 6:08 to play.
- Including the 8-0 scoring run, Black Hills State would out-score Northern State 20-13 in the final 12:09 of game time, shooting the ball 7-of-14 from the field and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. Johnson cashed in on the game’s final points with a pair of free throws with 27 seconds to play.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Jaeton Hackley: 22 points, 10-of-15 field goals, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
Cam Lowe: 13 points, 5-of-12 field goals, 1-of-4 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal
Jackson Seale: 13 points, 5-of-12 field goals, 3-of-8 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist, 1 block
UP NEXT
No. 15 Black Hills State returns to RMAC action next week, beginning with a Thursday, January 8, trip to Regis for a 5 p.m. tip-off in Denver.
