In a match-up of two 2-0 RMAC squads, the No. 19 Black Hills State University men’s basketball team got the best of UCCS on Thursday night as they defeated the Mountain Lions 97-92 in A2 Arena. The Yellow Jackets, who secured their tenth consecutive win over the Mountain Lions in A2 Arena, knocked down a season-best 15 3-pointers in the victory as both Cam Lowe and Blake Volmer connected on four from deep. Lowe went on to record his fourth 20-point game of the season, pouring in a season-best 26 points. Additionally, the Green & Gold once again assisted on more than 20 baskets, dishing out 23 assists on 34 made baskets as one of the nation’s most efficient offenses shot better than 50.0 percent for the seventh time this year, hitting 54.0 percent of their shots on the night. Black Hills State led by as many as 17 points late in the second half, however, they fended off a late 20-7 scoring run by UCCS as they went 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 35 seconds of the contest.
QUICK DETAILS
Score: No. 19 Black Hills State 97, UCCS 92
Team Records: No. 19 Black Hills State 8-1 (3-0 RMAC), UCCS 5-4 (2-1 RMAC)
Attendance: 1,281
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Black Hills State stormed out to an early 7-0 lead just two minutes into the contest, as Cam Lowe started the scoring with an easy right-handed layup off a Myles Johnson assist 12 seconds after the tip-off and then Jackson Seale followed it up with a 3-pointer and a hook shot in the paint. UCCS turned the ball over their first two possessions and did not make a field goal until the 17:22 mark as Marzouq Ibn Abdur-Razaaq took the ball strong to the rim for a layup to cut the lead to 9-5.
- Despite the early 9-3 advantage for the Yellow Jackets, the Mountain Lions remained close and closed the margin to within one point (13-12) as Brody Hull sank a step back jumper from the right-elbow with 15:10 on the first half clock. A few minutes later the lead was back to five (17-12) for the Green & Gold as Seale made back-to-back layups off assists from Jaeton Hackley who was able to break the UCCS press. Seale scored 11 of the first 17 points for BHSU in the first 6:43 of game time.
- Black Hills State saw their lead grow to double digits as 4-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc powered a 14-4 scoring run as Joel Speckman made a fast break layup off a Hackley steal and assist to cap the run and make it a 31-19 game with 9:57 to play in the first half. During the run Lowe and Blake Volmer each knocked down a pair of 3-pointers.
- The 12 point advantage for the Yellow Jackets was the largest of the first half, as UCCS rallied back with a 15-2 scoring run of their own, which eventually saw the Mountain Lions take a one point lead as Shawn Williams collected a steal and finished the play with a dunk to make it a 34-33 game with 3:30 left till the break. The teams traded the lead three more times in the next minute and a half, and Black Hills State eventually took the lead for good with the third Volmer 3-pointer of the frame as he connected from the right-corner off an assist from Hackley. The triple sparked a 12-0 scoring run with another stretch of 4-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc for the Green & Gold. Tristan Hurdle hit a pair of 3-pointers during the run, and Lowe made it an 11 point lead as he capped the rally with his third trey of the opening half to make it 47-36 with 23 seconds to play. UCCS cut the lead back to single digits with a tough layup by Xavier Martinez in the closing seconds to make it a 47-38 game at the break.
- Hackley made the tenth 3-pointer of the game for Black Hills State on the opening possession of the second half as he drained a left-corner triple off a Jack Haggett steal and an assist by Johnson. After four quick points from UCCS to trim the lead back to single digits, an 11-3 BHSU scoring run was capped by a right-wing 3-pointer by Lowe, assisted by Seale, to make it a 16 point advantage (61-45) with 16:22 to play.
- After a period of back-and-forth action, the Mountain Lions clawed back to within ten points (72-62) as a 9-3 scoring run was capped by a pair of Hull free throws with 8:45 remaining on the clock. The response for the Yellow Jackets was a 13-6 run, that saw Hackley score ten consecutive points for Black Hills State, which included a pair of 3-pointers. The run was capped by Volmer’s fourth 3-pointer of the contest, off yet another Hackley assist, as BHSU gained their largest lead of the game at 17 points (85-68) with just 5:54 to play.
- A 20-7 scoring run for UCCS saw the Mountain Lions make a late rally and force BHSU to make free throws and ice the game away. The lead that once stood at 17 points quickly diminished over the final six minutes of the contest, as UCCS shot 7-of-11 from the field and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe to claw back within four points (92-88) as Mario Williams Jr. made a pair of free throws with 35.0 seconds remaining. The Yellow Jackets went 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 35.0 seconds to ice the game away as both Lowe and BJ Woodruff went 2-of-2 from the charity stripe to secure a 97-92 victory.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Cam Lowe: 26 points, 8-of-15 field goals, 4-of-9 3-pointers, 6-of-6 free throws, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal
Jaeton Hackley: 16 points, 5-of-10 field goals, 3-of-5 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal
Jackson Seale: 15 points, 7-of-13 field goals, 6 rebounds, 1 assist
Blake Volmer: 13 points, 4-of-4 field goals, 4-of-4 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
UP NEXT
No. 19 Black Hills State remains at home for their final RMAC match-up of the 2025 calendar year on Saturday, December 13, as they host Colorado Christian in a 6 p.m. contest in A2 Arena.
