Despite the best defensive performance of the year by an opposing team of No. 1 Nova Southeastern, the No. 10 Black Hills State University men’s basketball team fell to the Sharks by a score of 76-66 on Wednesday night in the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Elite Eight. The Yellow Jackets would hold the nation’s top offense to a season-low 36.9 percent shooting from the field, their fewest field goals made (24), their second-fewest points (76) and assists (8), and in total 24 points below their season scoring average of 100.2 points per game, however, the Green & Gold were unable to capitalize on the strong defensive performance as they struggled to score as well on just 38.1 percent shooting from the field. The BHSU backcourt duo of BJ Woodruff and Jaeton Hackley led the way in the final game of the season, as Woodruff scored a career-high 19 points and sank a career-best five 3-pointers in the game while Hackley added ten points and four assists. The duo committed just one turnover each against the stringent press defense of the Sharks that on average forced their opponents into 19.1 turnovers per game.
QUICK DETAILS
Score: No. 10 Black Hills State 66, No. 1 Nova Southeastern 76
Team Records: No. 10 Black Hills State 30-5 (17-3 RMAC), No. 1 Nova Southeastern 31-1 (19-1 SSC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- It was a right-wing 3-pointer by BJ Woodruff that opened the scoring in the match-up just over a minute into the contest, however, Nova Southeastern responded with a 12-2 scoring run as a 2-of-3 trip to the charity stripe by Ross Reeves gave NSU a 12-5 advantage with 15:53 to play in the first half. The Yellow Jackets ended the run with four consecutive points with back-to-back fastbreak layups by Myles Johnson and Jaeton Hackley to make it a 12-9 ball game with 15:25 remaining in the opening half.
- After BHSU trimmed the deficit to three points, the Sharks responded by extending their advantage to nine points (20-11) with an 8-3 run that saw Dallas Graziani splitting a pair of free throws at the charity stripe with 12:27 on the clock. The Green & Gold once again had an answer of their own, not letting the Sharks break open the game as BHSU went on a 13-4 scoring run with Jackson Seale making a layup off a pick and roll and assist by Cam Lowe and then Lowe added a layup of his own as Joel Speckman found him cutting to the hoop for a bucket to tie the game at 24 apiece with 8:46 on the clock.
- Following the tie at 24 apiece the Yellow Jackets fell into a scoring drought of 6:48 of game time, which saw Nova Southeastern use a 12-0 scoring run to push their lead to double digits as Bobby Rosenberger split a pair of free throws to make it 36-24 with 2:00 remaining in the first half. BHSU momentarily trimmed the deficit to single digits as Jack Haggett made two free throws and Woodruff added his third 3-pointer of the game to draw within seven points at 36-29 with 1:38 to play. NSU, however, closed the half with a mid-range pullup jumper and a driving left-handed layup by Reeves to make it 40-29 going into halftime.
- Hackley pulled the Yellow Jackets back within single digits with the first basket of the second half, scoring on a pullup mid-range jumper to make it a 40-31 ball game with 18:44 to play, however, the Sharks saw Reeves knock down a pair of free throws and make a driving layup from the left-wing to give them their largest lead of the game just minutes later at 44-31 with 16:49 remaining.
- Midway through the second half, Black Hills State would go on an 8-0 scoring run, clawing back within two points (52-50) as Johnson capped the run with a left-wing 3-pointer off an assist from Seale with 9:29 to play in the game. Despite the momentum, two points would be the closest the Yellow Jackets would get as Reeves scored on a left-handed layup off an out of bounds play and sparked a 9-0 scoring run for the Sharks to push their lead back out to double digits as Bennett Kayser hit a right-corner 3-pointer off an assist by Jaxon Nap to make It 61-50 with 7:19 to play.
- BHSU made one final push in the closing minutes, sparked by a dunk by Speckman off an assist from Hackley with 5:26 to play, as they tried to battle back from a 12-point deficit. In nearly four minutes of action, the Yellow Jackets went on an 11-5 scoring run that saw Woodruff add a pair of 3-pointers late off assists by Hackley and Haggett respectively to bring it to a 72-66 ball game with 1:33 remaining. The Sharks, however, would fend off the upset rally as they went 4-of-7 from the charity stripe for the final four points of the contest to make it a 76-66 final.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
BJ Woodruff: 19 points, 7-of-14 field goals, 5-of-9 3-pointers, 1 rebound, 1 assist
Jaeton Hackley: 10 points, 4-of-8 field goals, 2-of-2 free throws, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 steal
Joel Speckman: 10 points, 4-of-5 field goals, 2-of-3 free throws, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
SEASON NOTES
- Black Hills State concludes the season with a record of 30-5 (17-3 RMAC) as they matched an all-time school record of 30 wins in a season. The only other 30-win mark in program history occurred in the 2008-09 season.
- The Yellow Jackets secured a trio of titles during the 2025-26 season, winning the RMAC regular season and tournament championships, along with the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.
- The loss dropped Black Hills State’s all-time NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament record to 11-3 after their third appearance in the Elite Eight in the last five years.
- BHSU ends the season with NCAA Division II era school records in scoring average (82.0), free throw percentage (76.4%), rebounds per game (38.1), and assists per game (17.7).
- Tristan Hurdle ends his Yellow Jacket career as the school’s all-time career record holder in 3-point percentage (46.6%) and seventh all-time in total career 3-pointers made (149).
- Myles Johnson ends his Yellow Jacket career by ranking fourth in program history with 46 steals during the 2025-26 season.
- Cam Lowe concluded an All-American season by ranking third in single season 3-pointers made (92) and sixth in single season program history in points scored (595).
- Jaeton Hackley posted the best single season assist/turnover ratio in the school’s DII era, recording 153 assists to just 58 turnovers for a 2.64 ratio. He also ranks fifth all-time in school history with 153 assists in 2025-26 and seventh all-time in school history with a 4.4 assist per game average this year.
- Jack Haggett and Jackson Seale each reached the top-10 in program history in single season blocks, ranking fourth and tied for eighth respectively with 39 and 33 blocked shots in 2025-26.
