The No. 13 Black Hills State University men’s basketball team protected their home court, moving to 13-1 in A2 Arena, as they defeated Colorado Mesa 89-77 to clinch the 2026 RMAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship and the leagues automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament. The Yellow Jackets overcame an early ten point deficit in the first half, erasing the margin with a 29-13 scoring run over nearly 11 minutes in the first half, and scoring their third come from behind victory in the last four games as six of seven players to find their way into the scorebook reached double figures, the most this season. Leading the charge for the Green & Gold was tournament MVP, Jackson Seale, who scored 13 of the team’s first 18 points in the second to create an early double digit lead in the in the final 20 minutes of action. Other Yellow Jackets to secure a spot on the all-tournament team included Cam Lowe, Tristan Hurdle, and Myles Johnson, all of which also reached double figures. With the 15-point performance from Lowe, he became the second player in the program to reach 1,000 career points this season.
QUICK DETAILS
Score: No. 13 Black Hills State 89, Colorado Mesa 77
Team Records: No. 13 Black Hills State 27-4 (17-3 RMAC), Colorado Mesa 21-10 (15-5 RMAC)
Attendance: 3,011
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Colorado Mesa opened the scoring in the game with a free throw line jumper from Clayton Jewell off an assist from Ben Henderson just 15 seconds into the contest, sparking a 7-0 run for the Mavericks to begin the game in the first minute and a half. Black Hills State would end the run as Jaeton Hackley found Jack Haggett cutting to the rim for a 2-handed dunk to make it a 7-2 ball game with 17:38 remaining in the first half. Minutes later, CMU pushed their lead to ten points (14-4), their largest of the contest, as Jewell added another basket on a drive to the hoop for a right-handed layup with 15:04 on the clock.
- After falling behind by ten, Myles Johnson would score the next six points for the Yellow Jackets, beginning with a layup off the left-block that sparked a 19-9 scoring run for the Green & Gold to even the game at 23 a piece with 6:38 on the clock as Jackson Seale hit a floater off an assist from Hackley on the pick and roll. The ensuing possession, Tristan Hurdle capitalized on a second chance opportunity created by a Blake Volmer offensive rebound, sinking a right-corner 3-pointer off the extra pass from Seale, giving BHSU their first lead of the game at 26-23 with 5:44 on the clock, and a lead that they would not surrender.
- Black Hills State would lead by as many as six points (33-27) in the first half, as Seale connected on his first of four triples in the match-up, knocking down the shot from the top of the key as Cam Lowe drew the defense in on a drive to the hoop with 3:57 to play till the halftime break. The 3-pointer capped a 29-13 scoring run for BHSU over a nearly 11 minute stretch in the first half.
- Colorado Mesa closed the first half by outscoring the Yellow Jackets 11-6 the final three and a half minutes, which saw Tevin Riehl sink three free throws with less than a second to go in the opening half, making the score 39-38 in favor of the home team, as he was fouled on a 3-point attempt on the right-wing.
- Seale, the RMAC Men’s Basketball Tournament MVP, took over the first five and a half minutes of the second half, scoring 13 of the Yellow Jackets’ first 18 points of the final stanza. It started with a lay in off the right-block as Haggett was able to get a pass to him through the arms of a pair of Maverick defenders just 14 seconds into the half. He then capped the stretch with his third three of the half and fourth of the game with 14:27 to play, connecting on a right-wing trey off a kick-out pass from Hackley to make it a 57-48 advantage for BHSU.
- Following a back-and-forth stretch for several minutes, a 7-0 scoring run for the Yellow Jackets pushed the lead back to double digits, as Lowe hit a pair of free throws with 10:56 to play and then knocked down a step back 3-pointer from the left-wing with 8:33 left on the clock to make it 68-55. The 3-pointer gave Lowe his 1,000th career point in just two seasons as a Yellow Jacket. The Mavericks, however, responded with an 8-0 run of their own to get right back into the contest, as Ty Allred hit a pull up jumper inside the free throw line to bring the visitors within five points (68-63) with just 6:49 to play in the title match-up.
- Johnson put an end to the momentum for Colorado Mesa, collecting a steal and taking the ball coast to coast for a 2-handed fastbreak dunk with 5:56 to play and spark an 11-2 scoring run. The rally brought the Yellow Jacket lead to 14 points (79-65), the largest of the game, on a free throw line jumper by Lowe with just 3:26 left on the clock.
- Black Hills State closed out a strong performance at the charity, 23-of-25 in the game, by going 8-of-8 from the free throw line in the final two minutes and sealing an 89-77 victory.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Jackson Seale: 18 points, 7-of-9 field goals, 4-of-6 3-pointers, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal
Myles Johnson: 18 points, 5-of-10 field goals, 8-of-8 free throws, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 steals
Cam Lowe: 15 points, 4-of-10 field goals, 6-of-6 free throws, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Jack Haggett: 13 points, 5-of-8 field goals, 1-of-2 3-pointers, 2-of-2 free throws, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Jaeton Hackley: 12 points, 3-of-6 field goals, 6-of-6 free throws, 2 rebounds, 5 assists
Tristan Hurdle: 12 points, 5-of-6 field goals, 2-of-3 3-pointers, 2 rebounds
UP NEXT
With the RMAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship, No. 13 Black Hills State punches their ticket to the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament next weekend. The official bracket will be announced Sunday, March 8, at 9 p.m. MT via a selection show on NCAA.com.
