The No. 10 Black Hills State University men’s basketball team defeated their second top-15 opponent of the weekend on Tuesday night as they took down the South Central Region hosts of No. 15 Dallas Baptist by a score of 76-62 in the Burg Center. The Yellow Jackets never wavered as the Patriots built a 7-point advantage with 10:45 to play and responded by outscoring DBU 36-15 over the final ten minutes of action to secure their third South Central Regional title in a span of five years and improved to 9-0 in South Central Regional tournament games.
QUICK DETAILS
Score: No. 10 Black Hills State 76, No. 15 Dallas Baptist 62
Team Records: No. 10 Black Hills State 30-4 (17-3 RMAC), Dallas Baptist 29-7 (18-2 LSC)
Attendance: 1,230
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Black Hills State jumped out of the gates with five early points from Jackson Seale, scoring on a layup assisted by BJ Woodruff and a 3-pointer by Jack Haggett to make it a 5-0 ball game just over a minute into the contest. Dallas Baptist then answered with a pair of layups by Jaden Shelvin to even the score at six apiece with 16:51 to play in the opening half.
- The Patriots gained a 16-12 advantage with an and-one by TJ Thomas with 9:43 on the clock, capping a 14-6 scoring run. The four point advantage was the largest lead of the first half for DBU, as the Yellow Jackets responded with a commanding 14-4 scoring run of their own to swing the momentum. The run was sparked by a 3-pointer by Tristan Hurdle off a Myles Johnson assist with 9:09 to play till the halftime break, and then Hurdle capped the rally with a left-corner triple off an assist by Jaeton Hackley.
- The six point BHSU advantage was the largest by either team in the first half as the teams traded the lead twice in the final minutes before the break. With 1:06 remaining in the first half, Cam Lowe knocked down left-corner midrange jumper to give Black Hills State the 34-32 halftime lead.
- Out of the locker room, the Patriots scored four unanswered points with a pair of free throws by Xavion Brown giving them a 36-34 lead with 17:41 remaining. Black Hills State wouldn’t score their first points of the second half until Johnson hit a pair of his own free throws with 16:40 on the clock. DBU eventually built a 47-40 advantage as 10:45 remained on the clock, capping a 15-6 start to the second half for the home team.
- Following the seven point deficit for the Yellow Jackets, the Green & Gold responded by outscoring the South Central Region’s No. 1 seed 36-15 over the final ten minutes. The rally began with Seale splitting a pair of free throws with 10:16 to play, and they eventually regained the lead with a fastbreak right-wing 3-pointer by Hackley with 8:20 remaining to make it 51-49. After DBU took the lead back one final time and four ties, BHSU took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Hackley to make it 60-58 with 3:47 remaining.
- The lead eventually reached double figures with 43 seconds to play as Haggett sank a pair of free throws, and Woodruff’s final pair of free throws with nine seconds remaining gave the Green & Gold their largest lead of the night at 76-62.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Cam Lowe: 15 points, 6-of-10 field goals, 1-of-4 3-pointers, 2-of-3 free throws, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
Jaeton Hackley: 11 points, 3-of-10 field goals, 1-of-4 3-pointers, 4-of-4 free throws, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Tristan Hurdle: 11 points, 4-of-7 field goals, 3-of-5 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Jack Haggett: 10 points, 3-of-4 field goals, 4-of-7 free throws, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks
UP NEXT
No. 10 Black Hills State advances to the NCAA Division II Tournament Elite Eight set to be played at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, March 25. The Yellow Jackets will play in the 4 p.m. MT / 6 p.m. ET match-up against No. 1 Nova Southeastern.
