The No. 17 Black Hills State University men’s basketball team took control of the RMAC regular season title race on Thursday night, taking a one game lead in the standings with just three games remaining as they took down Adams State by a score of 79-69. The road victory for the Yellow Jackets marked just the second time a visiting opponent went into Plachy Hall and defeated the Grizzlies this season, snapping a 5-game home win streak for ASU as they fell to 11-2 on their home court in 2025-26. The Green & Gold saw a spark offensively from redshirt sophomore Cam Lowe, who poured in 27 points for his 13th game of 20 or more points this season, and then it was BJ Woodruff who’s timely 3-pointer sparked a 13-6 scoring run to close the game and secure the victory.
QUICK DETAILS
Score: No. 17 Black Hills State 79, Adams State 69
Team Records: No. 17 Black Hills State 21-4 (14-3 RMAC), Adams State 16-9 (10-7 RMAC)
Attendance: 426
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Black Hills State jumped out to a quick 4-0 advantage a minute and a half into the contest, starting with a driving layup from the left-corner by BJ Woodruff on the opening possession and then two possessions later a steal and 2-handed dunk by Cam Lowe.
- After falling behind 4-0, Adams State responded by knocking down three 3-pointers on a 9-4 scoring run to take their first lead of the match-up as Jarmell Johnson sank a left-corner triple to take a 9-8 lead with 16:15 to play in the opening half. Jack Haggett quickly responded with a 3-pointer of his own from the right-wing off an assist from Lowe to take the lead back just 16 seconds later, marking the second of four lead changes in the game, all within an eight minute stretch midway through the first half.
- As the lead briefly went back-and-forth, the Grizzlies held their largest lead of the contest at 21-17 with 10:31 to play in the first half, however, after that point a Woodruff 3-pointer from the left-corner off an assist from Blake Volmer sparked an 11-2 scoring run to take the lead for good. Giving the Yellow Jackets the lead for good was Lowe who took a defensive rebound and then knocked down a quick pull up jumper from the left-elbow to make it 22-21 with 8:09 left till the halftime break. Capping the scoring run was four consecutive made free throws by Jaeton Hackley to push the advantage to five points (28-23) with 6:47 to play in the opening half.
- ASU continued to keep the margin within five points up until the later minutes of the first half as a 14-4 scoring run pushed the BHSU lead to double digits. The run began as Lowe capitalized on a second chance opportunity as Volmer snagged an offensive board and Hackley would find Lowe for a left-wing triple with 4:51 to play to make it 31-27. During the rally Lowe sank three 3-pointers in the final five minutes of the first half and Hackley added a fourth for a 4-of-5 finish to the first 20 minutes of action from beyond the arc for BHSU. Lowe’s third triple in the half gave the Yellow Jackets a 42-31 lead with a right-wing trey with 33 seconds remaining. Adams State added a pair of free throws with one second to play to make it a 42-33 game at the halftime break.
- The Grizzlies remained within single digits in the second half up until the final minutes of the contest, clawing within three points on four occasions, and the closest they would get would be two points as Luke Williams made a driving right-handed layup after securing a blocked shot at the other end to make it 55-53 with 11:15 remaining in the game.
- The Yellow Jackets would put the game away in the final two and a half minutes, closing the game on a 13-6 scoring run. The rally started with a crucial 3-pointer from the right-wing by Woodruff, sinking the triple over the outstretched hand of a Grizzly defender and quieting the crowd to make it 69-63 with just 2:16 left on the clock. Then with 29.5 remaining in the contest Woodruff went 2-of-2 at the charity stripe to push the lead to ten points (77-67), and with 20.4 to play Speckman added another pair of free throws to give the Green & Gold their largest lead of the game (79-67). The scoring in the game came to a close as Johnson added a turnaround jumper in the paint for the Grizzlies with 15.2 remaining to bring the final score to 79-69. In the final two minutes the Yellow Jackets were a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line, concluding a 16-of-18 shooting performance from the charity stripe on the road.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Cam Lowe: 27 points, 11-of-21 field goals, 3-of-10 3-pointers, 2-of-2 free throws, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals
Jaeton Hackley: 13 points, 3-of-7 field goals, 1-of-2 3-pointers, 6-of-6 free throws, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals
BJ Woodruff: 13 points, 4-of-10 field goals, 3-of-6 3-pointers, 2-of-2 free throws, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
UP NEXT
No. 17 Black Hills State will play their final road game of the regular season on Saturday, February 21, as they visit Las Vegas, New Mexico, for a 3 p.m. tip-off against New Mexico Highlands in the John A. Wilson Complex. The game will be available streaming live on the RMAC Network and on KDSJ Radio.
